In fact, Tuesday’s submission in court could be the turning point in salvaging that image. It is courageous to confess that the charges against an official pursued by the government at the highest level are in fact not worth scrutiny by the judiciary. In itself, it could invite confidence that a valuable lesson has been learnt. Sadly, that does not seem to be happening. Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium’s statement that the government would circulate a fresh litany of charges against the AIIMS director confirms the suspicion that it is not the charge of impropriety that is at the heart of the matter. It confirms that a minister’s personal vendetta has drawn his government into fixing the AIIMS director.

Therein lie the stakes for Dr Manmohan Singh’s government. He has repeatedly put administrative reform at the centre of his prime ministerial agenda. His health minister’s personal dislikes and the politics of quotas cannot be allowed to hijack him to a battle that militates against his larger vision for bureaucratic and institutional competence. He must make this call: there are no gains to be had from returning to court with ever newer charges against Venugopal.