After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Madhav Godbole took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in March 1993 when he was Union Home Secretary & Secretary, Justice. Earlier, he was Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Secretary, Urban Development in Government of India. He also worked as Chairman, Maharashtra State Electricity Board, and Principal Finance Secretary in Government of Maharashtra.Godbole has written 23 books on public policy issues of which 13 are in English. The Hindi translation of his book, Secularism: India at a Crossroads, was published in 2018. He is now researching for his next book, India's Quasi-Federalism: Fault lines, Challenges and Opportunities.Godbole was chairman of several government committees, including Enron power project and management of India's international borders.