UPSC Mains 2020 GS Paper 4 Q4a: model answer
Distinguish between laws and rules. Discuss the role of ethics in formulating them.
What the question wants
Distinguish laws from rules and discuss the role of ethics in framing both.
How to structure it
Distinguish, then ethics.
- Laws
- Rules
- Differences
- Ethics in formulation
How to think it through
Laws: made by legislature, general principles, binding, enforced by courts/state, penalties. Rules: delegated legislation by executive under parent Act (e.g., IT Rules 2021 under IT Act 2000), procedural details; must be intra vires; laid before Parliament. Also organisational rules. Ethics in formulation: justice, equity, consultation (Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy 2014), proportionality, clarity, protecting vulnerable, sunset clauses, avoid excessive delegation; e.g., farm laws 2020 repealed 2021 after protests—consultation lacking; DPDP Act 2023 consultation.
Model answer
A law is like a house's design; rules are the wiring and plumbing that make it usable. Both must be built well, and ethics decides whether the house is fit to live in.
Laws and rules
- Laws are made by Parliament or state legislatures; they set broad rights, duties and penalties.
- Rules are made by the executive under powers delegated by a law, filling in details, procedures and forms.
- Example: the IT Rules, 2021 were made under the IT Act, 2000.
Key differences
- Source: legislature versus executive.
- Scope: broad principles versus detailed procedures.
- Validity: rules must stay within the parent law (intra vires) and are laid before the legislature.
The role of ethics in formulating them
- Justice and equity: protecting the weak, not only the convenient.
- Consultation: India's Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy (2014) asks for drafts to be published; the farm laws (2020), passed with little consultation, were repealed in 2021 after long protests.
- Proportionality: restrictions no wider than needed.
- Limited delegation: the executive should not use rules to do what the law did not allow.
Law gives the state power; ethics makes sure the power is fit for the people.
Draw: A parent tree 'law' with branches 'rules'; roots labelled 'ethics: justice, consultation, proportionality'.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
laws vs rules, delegated legislation, IT Act 2000, IT Rules 2021, intra vires, laid before legislature, justice, consultation, Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy 2014, farm laws 2020 repealed 2021, proportionality, clarity, sunset clauses.
Where most answers lose marks
- Distinguishing laws and rules but skipping the role of ethics.
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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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