Moral Intuition vs. Moral Reasoning-Case Study - I

You are the District Magistrate (DM) of a severely drought-hit district. To deal with the drinking water and irrigation crisis, the government has implemented extremely strict rules to prevent water theft or illegal extraction from the main canal. There is a clear provision for heavy financial fines and immediate arrest for anyone caught doing so. One day, during a surprise inspection, you catch an extremely poor and elderly farmer red-handed, secretly extracting a small amount of water from the main canal. Upon questioning, he falls at your feet crying and says that his small crop is drying up. If this ....