Ethics Case Study: You are hearing a case in court. The case is that of rash driving where a 16 year old boy has hit 3 people on road. Out of them, 1 person who was the only earning member in the family died on the spot. The boy is the son of a reputed IAS officer in the city. At the time of accident, he had come from a party and was drunk. The officer is one of your good friends. He asks you not to punish the child as this would spoil his career and it was by mistake. He requests you that this judgement will have a big impact on the career of his son. What are the ethical conflicts in the case? What are the various options before you? Discuss them with their merits and demerits. Are moral and ethical values of parents and the upbringing of children by them to be held responsible in such cases? (200 W/ 12½ M)

Mentor’s Comment:

The case study taken from Delhi BMW hit and run incident where man gets two year jail term. Read details from the below link.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/delhi-bmw-hit-and-run-man-gets-two-year-jail-term-4752538/

 

Model Answer:

The case involves dilemma for the judge to give judgement where the minor if punished may not get an opportunity to rectify his mistake and to give justice to the people who were killed with no fault of their own. The minor who was driving the car was seeking fun and in the road rage led to the death of innocent people.

The various ethical conflicts that arise in the case are as follows:

  1. Judicial values and human values conflict
  2. Not giving the punishment to the child and show empathy considering his future that lies ahead
  3. Choosing between his duty and personal relationship with the father of the minor
  4. Setting an example for such future cases and set a benchmark
  5. Balancing the quantum of punishment between a major and minor
  6. Empathy towards innocent families who lost their families

The various options available before the judge are:

  1. Giving punishment to the child
  • This will send a good message in the society that no one can escape the law even if he is wealthy. The minor will be punished for killing those innocent people. But, it will spoil the personal relations of the judge with the father of the minor. But, overall it will be a good option considering the overall impact on the society.
  1. Set him free for good reciprocatory relations with his father
  • This will maintain the good terms he maintains with his friend. Moreover, he can give the judgement on the grounds that the child has a future ahead and he cannot be punished severely as the accident has occurred without any such intentions. But, then this step will lessen the faith of those poor people in the judicial system who have come to seek justice for the innocent people who died in the accident.
  1. Giving deterrent punishment
  • A moderate amount of punishment can be given. The minor should not be treated at par with someone who is above 18 years of age. This will also act as a deterrent to the child in future to be careful while driving.
  1. Announcing compensation for families affected
  • Though the loss of human life cannot be compensated, but as a part of the judgement he should make the officer pay for the loss that the poor families have suffered. This shows the empathy of the judge with the poor families.
  1. Not take up the case citing conflict of interest
  • Since the judge has good relations with the father of the minor, he may ask the authorities that somebody else may be asked to hear the case as he had personal interest involved in the case and he will not be able to do justice due to conflict of interest. But then his friend might not like this as some new judge may award his son with more punishment.
  1. Fixing the accountability on the parents
  • In such cases, the moral responsibility can be fixed on the parents specially for the minors. Then the parents will be more careful while giving the cars to their minor children. This will give a message to the society also.
  • In such cases, the moral and ethical responsibility also lies with the parents. They are also to be blamed for not maintaining adequate precaution while allowing their car to be driven by a minor who is not entitled for a license and also who caused death of innocent persons for fun or thrill. On moral ground such parents need to be deterred from the tendency to allow their minor children to flaunt their power and wealth and find fun or thrill in that even if it causes death of ordinary people. On moral grounds parents who spare their cars to their minor sons or daughters must be held guilty, at least in cases where damage to life is done. If the minor is forgiven it is likely to set a wrong precedent and send a wrong message that the wealthy can easily escape the punishment even in criminal cases.
  • There is a need to bring an attitudinal change in such people who display the power of their wealth and power. It is not an overnight process. It will take time. This can be brought by seeking parents’ control on their minors by telling them what is right and what is wrong. This is likely to change the way they think and will help them to realize the importance of life.

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