UPSC Mains 2013 GS Paper 4 Q14: model answer
You are the Executive Director of an upcoming Infotech Company which is making a name for itself in the market. Mr. A, who is a star performer, is heading the marketing team. In a short period of one year, he has helped in doubling the revenues as well as creating a high brand equity for the Company so much so that you are thinking of promoting him. However, you have been receiving information from many corners about his attitude towards the female colleagues; particularly his habit of making loose comments on women. In addition, he regularly sends indecent SMS's to all the team members including his female colleagues. One day, late in the evening, Mrs. X, who is one of Mr. A's team members, comes to you visibly disturbed. She complains against the continued misconduct of Mr. A, who has been making undesirable advances towards her and has even tried to touch her inappropriately in his cabin. She tenders her resignation and leaves your office. (a) What are the options available to you? (b) Evaluate each of these options and choose the option you would adopt, giving reasons.
What the question wants
List options of an Executive Director facing a harassment complaint against a star performer, evaluate them and choose one.
How to structure it
Options, evaluation, choice.
- Options
- Evaluation
- Choice
How to think it through
POSH Act 2013 (Vishaka 1997): Internal Committee mandatory for 10+ employees; employer duty; inquiry within 90 days; interim relief (transfer, leave). Options: ignore/promote; talk to A informally; accept X's resignation; refer to IC, interim relief, suspend from promotion; persuade X to withdraw resignation. Choose: stop resignation, refer to IC, interim measures, freeze promotion, address SMS issue (IT Act section 67 obscene), sensitisation. Performance never offsets misconduct.
Model answer
Stakeholders
- Mrs. X; other women in the team; Mr. A; the company's culture and brand; shareholders; me.
Dilemmas
- Revenue vs dignity and safety; loyalty to a star vs fairness to a victim; reputation management vs justice.
Options
- Ignore and promote; quiet warning; accept the resignation; formal inquiry with interim protection.
A company that keeps a harasser because he sells well is telling every woman in the building exactly what she is worth.
Options and evaluation
- Ignore the complaint and promote Mr. A: revenue is protected for now. But it violates the employer's duty under the POSH Act, 2013, exposes the company to penalties and lawsuits, and drives talented women out.
- Give him a quiet warning: avoids a scandal, but treats an attempted inappropriate touch as a matter of manners. Mrs. X gets no justice.
- Accept Mrs. X's resignation: the problem leaves the office, but the victim pays the price for someone else's conduct. It is the worst outcome.
- Formal inquiry with interim protection: fair to both, follows law, and protects the workplace. It may cost some business in the short run.
My choice
- Do not accept the resignation. I would reach Mrs. X the next morning, assure her of support and confidentiality, and ask her to file a written complaint before the
Internal Committee.
- Interim relief: move Mr. A out of her reporting line or put him on leave, as the Act allows during inquiry.
- Freeze the promotion until the inquiry ends.
- Act on the SMS complaints as separate misconduct; obscene messages may also be an offence under the IT Act.
- Accept the Committee's findings fully: if proved, termination; if not, close it fairly.
- Systemic steps: training for all staff, a clear policy displayed, and the annual report under the Act.
Mr. A doubled revenue. A culture of harassment would halve the company's talent. Good performance earns a bonus, never a licence to humiliate a colleague.
Draw: A scale with 'revenue' on one side and 'dignity, law, talent, brand' on the other.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
POSH Act 2013, Vishaka 1997, Internal Committee, interim relief, 90-day inquiry, confidentiality, employer's duty, IT Act obscene messages, promotion freeze, sensitisation, dignity at work, performance no licence.
Where most answers lose marks
- Treating it as a performance trade-off or advising mediation between X and A.
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Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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