JUDICIARY
TO BE DONE IN BOOK
Question 4
In the following illustration, fill in each tier with the judgments given by the various courts
in the Sudha Goel case. Check your responses with others in the class.
Answer
1. Lower Court (Trial Court): Laxman, his mother Shakuntala, and his brother-in-law
Subhash Chandra were sentenced to death.
2. High Court: Laxman, Shakuntala, and Subhash Chandra were acquitted.
3. Supreme Court: Laxman and Shakuntala were given life imprisonment, while
Subhash Chandra was acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence.
Question 5.
4. Keeping the Sudha Goel case in mind, tick the sentences that are true and correct the
ones that are false.
Answer
(a) True
(b) False. They went to the High Court after the Trial Court had given its decision.
(c) False. If they do not like the Supreme Court verdict, the accused cannot go back again
to the Trial Court, because the Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary
TO BE DONE IN NOTEBOOK
NEW VOCABULARY
1. Interpreter- a person whose job is to translate what somebody is saying
2. Encroached- to use more of something than one should
3. Convict- having officially been found guilty of a crime in a law court
4. Acquitted - to state formally that a person is not guilty of a crime
5. Pettition- a written document, signed by many people to do or change something
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question 1.
You read that one of the main functions of the judiciary is ‘upholding the law and
Enforcing Fundamental Rights’. Why do you think an independent judiciary is necessary
to carry out this important function?
Answer
An independent judiciary is necessary to carry out the function of ‘upholding the law and
enforcing Fundamental Rights’ because
● It intends to guard the judicial process against external influences and provide full
legal protection to all individuals going to court for whatever reason.
● Anyone can approach the courts if they believe that their rights have been violated.
Question 2.
How do you think the Right to Constitutional Remedies connects to the idea of judicial
review?
Answer The Right to Constitutional Remedies connects to the idea of judicial review
because
● As the final interpreter of the Constitution, the judiciary also has the power to strike
down particular laws passed by the Parliament if it believes that these are a
violation of the basic structure of the Constitution.
Question 3.
Why do you think the introduction of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the 1980s is
a significant step in ensuring access to justice for all?
Answer It is a significant step because before the 1980s filing litigation in the courts was
very costly.
1. The Supreme Court in the early 1980s devised a mechanism of Public Interest
Litigation or PIL to increase access to justice.
2. It allowed any individual or organisation to file a PIL in the High Court or the
Supreme Court on behalf of those whose rights were being violated.
3. The legal process was greatly simplified and even a letter or telegram addressed to
the Supreme Court or the High Court could be treated as a PIL.
Question 4.
Write a brief note on the independence of the judiciary.
Answer
The Judiciary of India is an independent body.
● The Executive and Legislature, that is the Central and State Governments, cannot
interfere in the work of the judiciary.
● The courts are not under the government and do not act on their behalf.
● Judges in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court are appointed by the
President with very little interference from the other branches of the government.
● It is also very difficult to remove a judge from his post.
Question 5. What is appellate jurisdiction?
Answer
Appellate jurisdiction means that a person can appeal to a higher court if they believe that
the judgment passed by the lower court is not just.
Question 6. What is the structure of courts in India?
Answer
There are three different levels of courts in our country.
● Subordinate or district courts at the lower level
● High courts at the State level
● Supreme court at the National level
Question 7. Differentiate between criminal law and civil law.
Answer
CRIMINAL LAW CIVIL LAW
Deals with conduct or acts that the law Deals with any harm or injury to the
defines as offences. For example, theft, rights of individuals. For example,
harassing a woman to bring more disputes relating to the sale of land,
dowry, murder. purchase of goods, rent matters,
divorce cases.
It usually begins with the lodging of an A petition has to be filed before the
First Information Report (FIR) with the relevant court by the affected party
police who investigate the crime after only. In a rent matter, either the
which a case is filed in the court. landlord or tenant can file a case.
If found guilty, the accused can be sent The court gives the specific relief asked
to jail and also fined. for. For instance, in a case between a
landlord and a tenant, the court can
order the flat to be vacated and
pending rent to be paid.
SHORT NOTES
1. Supreme Court was established on 26 January 1950.
2. High courts were first established in the three Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay,
and Madras in 1862.
3. The High Court of Delhi came up in 1966
4. Punjab and Haryana share a common High Court at Chandigarh.
5. The four northeastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal
Pradesh have a common High Court at Guwahati.
6. A new civil law was passed in 2006 to protect women against domestic violence.
7. Rajasthan and Orissa faced a drought in 2001.
8. Article 21 which provides every citizen the Fundamental Right to Life also includes
the Right to Health.
9. Currently, there are 25 High Courts in India.
10. The sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges is 34.
