Vyjayanthi (Vijaya Santhi) is an Assistant Superintendent of Police and a sincere cop who strives to confront a corrupt local leader Muddukrishnayya and his son's atrocities. Karthavyam is about how she is committed to her duty and goes till any lengths to prove Muddukrishnayya's son Chakravarthi guilty for an assault he committed on a girl and the hardships she faces in the process.