2018 · GS Paper 4 · Q6(c) · 10 marks
what do each of the following quotations mean to you in the present context? "Falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good." — Tirukkural
In short
The Tirukkural allows a falsehood to count as truth only when the good it yields is shared and wholly without harm, keeping truth as the rule. Staged encounters justified as public interest, curbed in PUCL v State of Maharashtra (2014), show how the exception is abused.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 284 words
Conditional Exception
Truth remains the rule; falsehood is a rare exception, a measured consequentialism rather than a licence to lie.
Unblemished Good
The lie must harm no innocent person and leave no hidden cost.
Common, Not Private
A lie that protects one's career, party or department fails at once.
Contrast with Absolutists
Kant forbade lying even to a murderer at the door and Gandhi treated truth as God, so the Kural sits between duty and outcome.
Legitimate Uses
Police negotiators misleading hostage-takers, or covert operations deceiving a hostile state, can meet the test because they save innocent lives.
Abuse in Its Name
"Public interest" excuses Ends-Means Inversion, as in staged encounters, which the Supreme Court curbed with mandatory procedures in PUCL v State of Maharashtra (2014).
Crisis Communication
Understating a pandemic to "avoid panic" erodes the trust that makes people follow advice.
A Practical Test
Sissela Bok's publicity test asks whether the lie could be justified openly afterwards.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2018 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.