SPL (VIII)- LESSON-6
UNDERSTANDING
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
( QUESTION ANSWERS)
__________________________________________________________
(NCERT QUESTIONS)
1. In a town called Peace Land, the supporters of the Fiesta football
team learn that the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the nearby city
about 40 km away have damaged the ground on which the Final between both teams
is to be held the following day. A crowd of Fiesta fans armed with deadly
weapons attacks the homes of the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the
town. In the attack, 10 men are killed, 5 women are gravely hurt, many homes
are destroyed and over 50 people injured.
Imagine that you and your classmates are now part of the criminal
justice system. First divide the class into the following four groups of
persons:
1. Police 2. Public Prosecutor 3. Defence lawyer 4. Judge
|
Roles |
Functions |
|
Police |
hear the witnesses record the statements of witnesses cross examine the witnesses take photographs of burnt homes record the evidence arrest the Fiesta fans writes the judgment argue the case for the victims decide the number of years for
which the accused will be put in jail examine the witnesses in court pass the judgment get the assaulted women medically
examined conduct a fair trial meet the accused persons |
|
Public Prosecutor |
|
|
Defense Lawyer |
|
|
Judge |
The column on the right provides a list of functions. Match these with
the roles that are listed on the left. Have each group pick the functions that
it needs to perform to bring justice to those who were affected by the violence
of the Fiesta fans. In what order, will these functions be performed?
Now take the same situation but ask one student who is a supporter of
the Fiesta Club to perform all the functions listed above. Do you think the
victims would get justice if only one person performed all of the functions of
the criminal justice system? Why not?
State two reasons why you believe that different persons need to play
different roles as part of the criminal justice system.
Answer
|
Role |
Functions |
|
Police |
Records the
statements of witnesses Takes photographs
of burnt homes Arrests the
Fiesta fans Gets the
assaulted women medically examined |
|
Public Prosecutor |
Cross examines
the witnesses Argues the case
for the victims |
|
Defence Lawyer |
Meets the accused
persons Examines the
witnesses in court |
|
Judge |
Hears the
witnesses Records the
evidence Writes the
judgement Decides for how
many years the accused will be put in jail Passes the
judgement Conducts a fair
trial |
The victim would not get justice if only one person performs all the
functions of the criminal justice system, because he could get influenced by
various prejudices. Separation of power is necessary within a judicial system
too, since absolute power can lead to unfairness.
Two reasons why different people need to play different roles as part of
the criminal justice system are:
1.
All the aspects of trial and investigation cannot be conducted by a
single person, as it entails a diverse range of work including arresting,
recording the statements of witnesses, defending the victim and accused
parties, passing a fair trial and judicially correct judgement.
2.
If all the powers are vested on one person alone, it might be misused
and thereby violate the laws based on just and equal decision.
A single ideology may not be the right one, as it can affect the trial
and the result of the case.
