The decision making of the civil servant is predominantly guided by the ethical principles in public interest and not by any kind of luring or fear by seniors or political veterans. In the given case, as a municipal commissioner, my role is to ensure that larger interests of the society are not the vested interests of few individuals. Any unethical decision by me favoring the builder or pleasing my senior or political veterans would not only be violating the code of conduct but are also against the basic values of impartiality, objectivity, and fairness.

Ethical issues involved in the given case:

• Personal vs. Professional ethics: Personal ethics involve morals and values that have been induced in me since my childhood, by parents, family and relatives and friends & teachers. Professional ethics on the other hand involve a strict adherence to code of conduct laid down at the workplace. Any violation of these rules and regulations can be termed as unprofessional. In this case, my personal ethics forces me to take personal interest in the case, conduct the enquiry at a fast pace and send the culprits behind the bars irrespective of consequences. But professional ethics suggest me to follow law and rules and involve my other teammates and seniors in the investigation process, or even quit from the enquiry if asked to do so by the authority concerned.
• Personal Interest vs. Public Interest: The given situation may drive me as an officer to gain in terms of promotion or financial gains from higher authorities. This can be done if I keep my personal interest above public interest. Personal interest relates to ignoring the widespread nexus between officials of the Municipal Corporation and the builders and resolving the case at the earliest in the favour of the builder, while public interest lies in transparent and quick enquiry into the case and sending the culprits behind the bars thereby giving justice to victims and their families.
• Honesty & Courage vs. Flattering: Honesty is a facet of moral character that connotes truthfulness and straightforwardness of conduct. Similarly, courage means the ability to control fear by ignoring consequences while critical decision making. Flattery, on the other hand, is done to seek attention or try to win favor for unethical reasons.

Options available with me are:

• The first option is to lose all my moral values and read the situation as an opportunity to take executive favour in terms of posting and promotion by seniors and politicians. This can be done if I totally ignore the nexus between officials of the Municipal Corporation and the builders and end up an enquiry with results in their favour.
• The second option is to remain stuck to my moral principles of impartiality, integrity and probity thereby conducting a fair and transparent enquiry. If the builder and my senior officers are found guilty, a report regarding their conduct can be sent to the judicial and quasi-judicial authorities for further course of action.

My selected course of action:

• My moral principles drive me to adopt the second option as my final course of action. Being honest and courageous since childhood, I hardly have any fear of consequences. Also, if I find that there is too much political and administrative pressure on me to perform unethical action, then I may even breach the principle of hierarchy, and report the same to the higher central authorities and request them to tackle the situation. Also, I will bring the issue in public limelight through the media, which will continue the pressure of transparent enquiry on public officials on this matter.