Class X Exam 2022-23

English-Language and Literature

Time Allowed: 3 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:
1. 15-minute prior reading time allotted for Q-paper reading.
2. The Question Paper contains THREE sections READING, GRAMMAR &
WRITING and LITERATURE.
3. Attempt question based on specific instructions for each part.

SECTION A: READING (20 marks)

Q.1

The Supreme Court on September 19 referred to a larger Bench issues

relating to procedural norms for imposing the death sentence. The
intervention is seen as a major step in plugging gaps in the way in which
trial courts award the death sentence.
What has the court said?
A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) U Lalit and
Justices Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that there are
conflicting judgments on when and how the sentencing hearing must take
place, and referred the issue to a five-judge Constitution Bench. This order
is necessitated due to a difference of opinion and approach amongst various
judgments, on the question of whether, after recording conviction for a
capital offence, under law, the court is obligated to conduct a separate
hearing on the issue of sentence,‖ the order said.
What is the difference of opinion?
Section 235 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) requires a judge to
hear the accused after conviction on the question of sentence, and then
pass sentence on him according to law. In 1980, the Supreme Court upheld
the constitutionality of capital punishment in ‗Bachan Singh v State of
Punjab on the condition that the punishment will be awarded in the ―rarest
of the rare‖ cases. Crucially, the ruling also stressed that a separate
sentencing hearing would be held, where a judge would be persuaded on
why the death sentence need not be awarded. This position was reiterated
in several subsequent rulings of the court, including in Mithu v State of
Punjab‘, a 1982 ruling by a five-judge Bench that struck down mandatory
death sentence as it falls foul of the right of an accused to be heard before
sentencing.
However, there are conflicting rulings on when that separate hearing is
supposed to take place. At least three smaller Bench rulings have held that
while a separate sentencing hearing is inviolable, they can be allowed on the
same day as the conviction. Other more recent three-judge decisions have
ruled that same-day sentencing in capital offences violate the principles of
natural justice. A 2020 study by Project 39A, a criminal reforms advocacy
group in the National Law University, Delhi, found that in 44 per cent of
cases it studied in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, sentencing
hearings took place on the same day as the pronouncement of guilt.
In ‗Dattaraya v State of Maharashtra‘, a 2020 ruling, a three-judge Bench
of the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment on
the grounds that an adequate sentencing hearing was not held. For effective
hearing under Section 235(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the
suggestion that the court intends to impose death penalty should
specifically be made to the accused, to enable the accused to make an
effective representation against death sentence, by placing mitigating
circumstances before the Court. This has not been done. The trial court
made no attempt to elicit relevant facts, nor did the trial court give any
opportunity to the petitioner to file an affidavit placing on record mitigating
factors. As such the petitioner has been denied an effective hearing, the
Court had said.
What is an adequate sentencing hearing like?
The catena of judgments on sentencing hearings talks about a ―meaningful,
real and effective hearing for the accused before awarding the death
sentence, wherein the accused can have an ―opportunity to adduce
material relevant for the question of sentencing. This cannot happen on the
same day as that of the conviction. Here, the judge is required to consider
not just factors that necessitate awarding the highest sentence, but also the
mitigating circumstances. In the same suo motu petition, the court is also
looking at framing a uniform policy in the form of guidelines for sentencing.
The court had indicated in its previous orders ―the necessity of working out
the modalities of psychological evaluation, the stage of adducing evidence in
order to highlight mitigating circumstances, and the need to build
institutional capacity in this regard.
What are mitigating circumstances?
In May, in ‘Manoj & others v. State of Madhya Pradesh‘, the Supreme Court
addressed the lack of a legal framework or institutional capacity to handle
death penalty sentencing. The ruling, by a three-judge Bench comprising
Justices Lalit (before he took over as CJI) and Bhat, acknowledged the
arbitrariness and subjective patterns in awarding the death sentence.
Studies also show that largely underprivileged, minorities, and scheduled
castes and tribes are awarded the death sentence. Death penalty sentence
is largely driven by the crime in question and not the circumstances of the
accused. For example, the Supreme Court‘s 1983 ruling in ‗Machhi Singh
 And Others vs State of Punjab‘ introduced ―collective conscience into the
capital sentencing framework and laid down five categories, wherein the
community would ―expect the holders of judicial power to impose death
sentence, because collective conscience was sufficiently outraged‖.
The 2020 study by Project 39A found that 72% of all cases in which Delhi
trial courts awarded the death penalty from 2000 to 2015 cited ―collective
conscience of the society as an influencing factor. The study also found that
of the 112 cases in which collective conscience was a factor impacting the
decisions of courts, absolutely no other mitigating factor was considered in
63 cases. The SC order referring the issue to a larger bench lists social
milieu, the age, educational levels, whether the convict had faced trauma
earlier in life, family circumstances, psychological evaluation of a convict
and post-conviction conduct, as relevant circumstances that should be
accounted for at the sentencing hearing.
What happens next?
The case will now be listed before the CJI on the administrative side for
orders on listing. A five-judge Constitution Bench will have to be set up to
settle the differences in law among several three-judge Bench verdicts. The
hearings will effectively settle the debate on whether the fast-tracked
hearings by trial courts awarding death sentences — in a matter of days in
some cases — is legally tenable. The ruling could also be a crucial step in
raising the bar further in awarding the death sentence.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1. What is the central idea of the above passage?
a. It states about the necessity of a mandatory separate hearing of death
sentence sentenced by a court.
b. It states that death sentence should be scraped and new punishments
should be evolved.
c. It states that debates on death sentences are ample and there is no need of
separate hearing.
d. It states that early hearing of a case in which death sentenced is already
awarded is affecting the verdict of the case.

2. What is the major factor influencing trail court case in Delhi in the 21 st
century?
a. Experience of the judges b)Early hearing and trail of the cases
c) Collective Conscience d)Judicial Conscience

3. What happened in Dattaraya v State of Maharashtra case?

a) Death sentence was awarded b)Death sentence was commuted
c) Death sentence was Cancelled d)Death sentence was reprised
4. Which was the first case in which Supreme court validated that it is
according to the constitution to punish a person with death sentence?
a. Machhi Singh And Others vs State of Punjab
b. Manoj & others v. State of Madhya Pradesh
c. Bachan Singh v State of Punjab
d. Dattaraya v State of Maharashtra
e. Mithu v State of Punjab

5. What is the purpose of separate hearing?

a. To establish why death sentence must be awarded
b. To prolong the sentencing enough to make the right decision
c. To establish why death sentence must not be awarded
d. To establish sufficient evidences and reasons enough to sentence capital
punishment.
6. Summarise the passage in your words (2 marks)
7. According to Supreme Court what circumstances must be taken into
consideration before awarding death sentence?
8. Which social groups are majorly awarded death sentence?
9. What is stated in section 235 of CrPC?

Q.2

The just released socio-economic and caste census data show more than
1.8 lakh manual scavengers in the country at a time virtually every state
government has been denying their existence. Hundreds if not thousands in
almost every state, including 2,500 in Bengal, told the surveyors they
manually remove untreated human excreta from dry toilets, railway tracks
and sewers - a practice banned by Parliament 22 years ago. State
government officials themselves verified the data, a senior Union rural
development ministry official said. In response to a public interest plea
moved by the Safai Karmachari Andolan in 2003, almost every state
government had told the Supreme Court that its population included no
manual scavengers. But in its March 2014 judgment, the apex court
accepted the sample data provided by the Andolan about manual
scavengers who remove fresh faeces "with bare hands, brooms or metal
scrapers". It directed the states to rehabilitate them, as required by law.

Magsaysay award winner Bezwada Wilson disagreed with the figure of

20,596 manual scavengers, saying the latest survey was carried out at
certain camps where the manual scavengers were to go and give their
details. It directed the states to rehabilitate them, as required by law.
Andolan convener Bejwada Wilson said his organisation, committed to
"eradication of manual scavenging and rehabilitation of all scavengers.
"We'll take them to their district collectors, asking for their rehabilitation,"
Wilson told the newspaper.
If the authorities still did not act, he said, the Andolan would move the apex
court again and launch a nationwide protest. Earlier, the population census
of 2011 had recorded nearly eight lakh household dry toilets from where, it
said, humans removed raw faeces manually. But it did not count the
scavengers and was silent on manual scavenging of faeces from sewage
lines and railway tracks, Wilson said. Civic and rural bodies regularly hire
scavengers to manually clean blocked sewers, as do the railways to clean
the tracks of excreta dropped by train toilets. "While we were providing data
on individual scavengers, the states were issuing denials," Wilson said.
"Now they can't deny it anymore."
State pressure Rural development ministry officials said most states had
tried to press the Union ministry into putting zeroes in the column for
manual scavengers, claiming the enumerators had recorded incorrect data.
"So, a verification procedure was introduced. Senior state officials went and
verified the data. In some cases they corrected the data," an official said.
Parliament had enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrine (Prohibition) Act in 1993, banning manual
scavenging of household toilets and requiring state governments to
rehabilitate the scavengers. The act stipulated a year's jail and a fine of Rs
2,000 for anyone engaging manual scavengers or building dry (non-flush)
toilets. But the states hardly enforced the law, officials say.

In 2013, Parliament passed the Prohibition of Employment as Manual

Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, which widened the definition of
manual scavenging to include the manual removal of excreta from sewers
and railway tracks. It also increased the punishment to five years in jail.
Economist Abhijit Sen, who was a member of the erstwhile Planning
Commission, said the government must come up with schemes to provide
alternative jobs to manual scavengers. Wilson criticised the Centre's
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, saying some two lakh among the community
toilets being set up under it would not have their septic tanks linked to
sewage lines.
 "Who will clean these tanks? Manual scavengers, of course. In a way, the
government is perpetuating the problem of manual scavenging," Wilson
said. He said every toilet in cities and villages should be connected to the
sewerage, and the railways and the local bodies must use machines to clean
the sewers and tracks, as is done abroad.

The horrific truth Eleven people died last month while cleaning sewer
tanks, including six in Delhi. Preliminary investigations suggested the
workers were not given any safety equipment before they entered the sewer
tanks. While manual scavenging is banned, workers with adequate safety
equipment, such as gloves and oxygen-connected masks, can be hired. The
law also says that contractors engaging manual scavengers must take
permission from competent authorities to ensure that they follow the safety
norms.

According to the norms, each manual scavenger would get an immediate

one-time assistance of Rs 40,000. They would be provided training for an
alternative job and funds credit to help them start a new venture.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

1. Who is the biggest employer of Manual scavengers?

a)State governments b)Central governments c)Railways d)Supreme court

2. How has Parliament prohibited manual scavenging?

a) by passing an act b) by forming a committee c) by providing alternative

jobs d) by creating a rehabilitation plan

3. Which state with its ratio of area and population has the highest manual
scavengers?

a) Maharashtrs b) Tripura c) Uttar Pradesh d) Bihar

4. What is the criticism of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?

5. Give a suitable title to the passage.

6. What are the contradictions created by governments in the issue of

employment of manual scavengers?

7. Who is fighting for manual scavengers? Which award did he win? How is
he fighting for them? (2 marks)

8. Do you think manual scavenging is fair? Should unemployment and

social pressure put a group in such work? Describe your thoughts and
solutions for this inhumane problem. (2 marks)
 SECTION B- GRAMMAR

Q.3

(A) Choose the answer of the questions from the given options.
1. Harshraj _____ the battlefield when the earth ______ with
earthquakes.
a. Flee/shook
b. Flew/shake
c. Fled/shook
d. Flew/shaken
e. Fled/ shaken
2. Samarth______ into laughter as he _______ the meaning of his
friends reply.
a. Burst/ mistook
b. Bursted/had mistaken
c. Bursted/ mistook
d. Burst/ had mistaken
3. Komal

SECTION C- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS

Q.4 Write letters on any two subjects given below (5*2 10 marks)

(A) You are secretary of Lotus society, Bandra, Mumbai 400001. There ia
too much water logging in front of your society which has become a
nuisance for students, travellers and daily commuters. You have repeatedly
asked the local administration to fix the issue but there has been persisted.
Write a letter to the editor of Indian express about the issue of your society.
Ask for email address to send photos and videos of the problem.
OR

(B) You are Shreejeet/ Shreya. You are travelling to Pudducherry for the first
time with Paradise Travel Company. Write a letter of enquiry to them asking
them details about the tour including important dates, time, places, things
to carry and do’s and don’ts in the travel. Make up the details by yourself.

(C) You are Alok / Akriti, living at 15, Mansarovar Garden in Delhi. Write a
letter to the Police Commissioner, complaining about the rising incidents of
chain snatching and pick-pocketing in your area.

OR
(D) You are Sakshi/Saksham, Hostel Warden, Radha Krishna Public School,
Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. Write a letter to the Sales Manager, Bharat
Electronics and Domestic Appliances Ltd., New Delhi, placing an order for
 fans microwaves, ovens and geysers that you wish to purchase for the
hostel. Also ask for discount permissible on the purchase.

SECTION C- LITERATURE 40
Q.6

Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. (5 MARKS)

2. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. (5 MARKS)

2. A

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbour and city
on silent haunches and then moves on.

1. Choose the option with qualities of the cat that Carl Sandburg applies to
the fog?
1) Cats like to move on at their own pace and before you know it, they've
disappeared.
2) Cats are distrustful of strangers and can be jealous and moody.
3) Cats often communicate with a combination of a distinctive sound and
body language.
4) Cats are stealthy, moving in slow motion at times and they appear to be
moving in a mysterious fashion
5) Cats are independent animals, they don’t follow rules, they slip and slide
in and out of our lives as they please.

a) Only 1
b) 2, 3 and 4
c) 1, 3 and 5
d) Only 4

2. The poet has used short lines to compose the given poem. Choose the
option that lists the most appropriate explanation for the same.

a. By keeping the lines short, the poet wants to introduce ambiguity or

contradiction into an otherwise straightforward sentence.
b. By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace to make the
reader slow down thereby reflecting the slow rolling in of the fog.
c. By keeping the lines short, the poet keeps the liberty in stepping away
from rule, traditional form, logic, or fact, in order to produce a desired effect
d. By keeping the lines short, the poet wants the reader to omit some parts
of a sentence, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while reading
it out.
3. Which is the poetic device in “The fog comes on little cat feet.”?

a. Personification
b. Assonance
c. Imagery
d. Metaphor

(There is a languid, emerald sea, where the sole inhabitant is me— a

mermaid, drifting blissfully.) Did you finish your homework, Amanda? Did
you tidy your room, Amanda? I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda! (I am an orphan, roaming the street. I pattern soft dust with my
hushed, bare feet. The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)

4. Antonym of languid is?

a. Unhurried
b. Listless
c. Average
d. Vigorous

5. Why does Amanda want to make patterns with her bare feet?
a. Because she wants freedom
b. Because she is told continuously to clean her shoes
c. Because she is an orphan in her mind
d. Because she is a mermaid and mermaids have bare feet

Q.7 Answer ANY FOUR of the following in about 40-50 words each. (4 *
3 = 12)
1. When we think of losses, we generally think of people or possessions.
Time is considered a very precious commodity. Explain why time can
probably be one of the things people bitterly regret losing/wasting. (The ball
poem)

2. Do you think that after his experience, the narrator would be able to
truly enjoy the English breakfast he had yearned for? Why/ Why not?

3. Explain the emotion vested in Anne’s statement, “…I was plunked down
on the table as a birthday present for Margot.”
4. Mijbil caused a sensation in London. Explain with reference to the
chapter “Mijbil the Otter”.
5. “The young seagull was alone on his ledge.” How far do you think this
condition was by his choice?
Q.8 Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 Words (6
marks)
1. Describe the relationship between Mijbil and Anne if Mijbil was her pet.
2. “Consequences and Positive Reinforcements Have a Great Impact on
Student Behaviour” Comment on the statement with reference to Anne
frank and Amanda

3. While the seagull was afraid of flying from the ledge, the pilot went ahead
into the dark clouds without visible way ahead. Describe the difference as
well as similarities in both stories.

Q.9 Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 40-50 Words each. (2*3
6 MARKS)
1. Do you think that the names ‘Think Tank’ and ‘Noodle’ replicate the
attributes of the two characters? Justify your answer with reference to the
chapter "The Book that Saved the Earth".

2. Do you think Mme Forestier returned the necklace or the money to

Matilda when at last she found out about the necklace? Justify your
answer.

3. Why do you think the narrator used to feel that ‘friends were more trouble
than help’? What could have led him to believe this?

4. Describe briefly how the Martians reach upon the correct application of
thebook.

Q.10 Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 100-120 words. (6

marks)

1. At the end of the play one is told that five centuries later Noodle has
acquired the position of Think- Tank. Through your understanding of both
the characters, pen down the account of events that could have led to
Think- Tank’s replacement by Noodle.

2. ‘Frugality in Life is the Ideal Way to Live’ and ‘Money can’t buy happiness’.
Justify the statements with reference ‘The Necklace’

3. If Matilda met the young thief, what life lessons she would give him?