Amity International School Sector 46, Gurugram

SPL-Ch.5 – Judiciary

SOC Activity -Paste the picture of Statue of Justice and explain why she is depicted with
a set of weighing scale.

Weblinks for the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbjctm_TtDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-55j84V8WEs

QUESTIONS TO BE DONE IN NOTE BOOK

Q1. Classify the functions of judiciary in India (SOC)
Ans. The functions of Indian judicial system are :

1.Dispute Resolution: - The judicial system provides a mechanism for resolving

disputes. It could be

a) Dispute between the Government of India and one or more States

b) Dispute between two or more States

c) Dispute between the Union and any State on one side and other States on the other.

2.Upholding the Law and Enforcing Fundamental Rights: -This means that a
person can appeal to a higher court if they believe that their fundamental rights have
been violated.

3.Judicial Review: -

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. This is called judicial review.
Q2. Why do you think, independence of judiciary is essential in India? How is it
ensured? (Question Bank)
Ans .

1. The Indian Constitution protects citizens by providing independence of the

judiciary.
2. One aspect of this independence is the ‘separation of powers’. It is a key feature
of the Constitution. This means that other branches of government – the
legislature and the executive – cannot interfere in the work of the judiciary. The
courts are not under the government and do not act on their behalf.
3. It is also crucial that all judges in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court
are appointed with very little interference from these other branches of
government.
4. Once appointed to this office, it is also very difficult to remove a judge.
5. It is the independence of the judiciary that allows the courts to play a central role
in ensuring that there is no misuse of power by the legislature and the executive.
It also plays a crucial role in protecting the Fundamental Rights of citizens
because anyone can approach the courts if they believe that their rights have
been violated.

Q3. What is the structure of courts in India (Question Bank )

Ans. The structure of Courts in India:

1. There are three different levels of courts in our country.

2. There are several courts at the lower level while there is only one at the apex
level.
3. The courts at the lower level are termed as subordinate or districts courts. Each
state is divided into districts that are presided over by a District Judge.
4. Each state has a High Court which is the highest court of that State.
5. At the top is the Supreme Court i.e. located in New Delhi and presided over by
the Chief Justice of India. The decision made by the Supreme Court is binding on
all other courts in India.

Q4. What are the different branches of the legal system? Differentiate between
them. (SOC)
Ans.Different branches of the legal system are Civil Law and Criminal Law.

Civil Law Criminal law

Civil law deals with any harm or injury to Criminal law deals with acts that the law
rights of individuals. For example, disputes defines as offences. For example - theft,
related to sale of land, purchase of goods, robbery, cheating, harassing a woman to
matters related to property, marriage, divorce bring more dowry, physical injury, murder,
cases. etc.

A petition has to be filed before the It usually begins with the lodging of an
relevant court by the affected party only. First Information Report (FIR) with the
In a rent matter, either the landlord or police who investigate the crime after
tenant can file a case. which a case is filed in the court.

The court gives the specific relief asked If found guilty, the accused can be sent to
for. jail and also fined.

HOTS QUESTION
Q5. What is Public Interest Litigation in India? Why do you think that introduction of
Public Interest Litigation in the 1980’s is a significant step in ensuring access to
justice for all (NCERT)

Ans. PIL has become a significant step in ensuring justice for all:

1. Access to courts has always been difficult for a vast majority of the poor in
India.Legal procedures involve a lot of money and paperwork as well as take up
a lot of time. For a poor person who cannot read and whose family depends on a
daily wage, the idea of going to court to get justice often seems remote.
2. The introduction of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by the Supreme Court in early
1980s allowed any individual or organization to file their case simply through a
letter or telegram addressed to the Supreme Court or the High Court without
spending money.
3. In the early years, PIL was used to secure justice on a large number of issues
such as rescuing bonded laborers from inhuman work conditions and securing
the release of prisoners in Bihar who had been kept in jail even after their
punishment term was complete.Hence, PIL has become a significant step in
ensuring justice for all.