Hess 305
Hess 305
Hess 305
53
Chapter 5 Judiciary
A glance at the newspaper provides you a glimpse of
the range of work done by the courts in this country.
But can you think of why we need these courts? As
you have read in Unit 2, in India we have the rule of
law. What this means is that laws apply equally to
all persons and that a certain set of fixed procedures
need to be followed when a law is violated. To enforce
this rule of law, we have a judicial system that
consists of the mechanism of courts that a citizen
can approach when a law is violated. As an organ of
the State, the judiciary plays a crucial role in the
functioning of Indias democracy. It can play this
role only because it is independent. What does an
independent judiciary mean? Is there any connection
between the court in your area and the Supreme
Court in New Delhi? In this chapter, you will find
answers to these questions.
55 Chapter 5: Judiciary
With the help of your teacher, fill in the blank spaces in the table below.
Q
Type of Dispute Example
The control that the politician holds over the judge does
not allow for the judge to take an independent decision.
Do you think that any ordinary This lack of independence would force the judge to make
citizen stands a chance against all judgments in favour of the politician. Although we often
a politician in this kind of
hear of rich and powerful people in India trying to influence
judicial system? Why not?
the judicial process, the Indian Constitution protects
against this kind of situation by providing for the
independence of the judiciary.
The structure of the courts from the lower to the highest level is such that it
resembles a pyramid. Having read the description above, can you fill out which
type of courts would exist at what level in the following diagram?
Q
57 Chapter 5: Judiciary
High Courts were first established in the three
Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras in 1862. The High Court of Delhi came
up in 1966. Currently there are 21 High Courts.
While many states have their own High Courts,
Punjab and Haryana share a common High Court
at Chandigarh, and the seven northeast states
have a common High Court at Guwahati. Some
High Courts have benches in other parts of the
state for greater accessibility.
High Court of Madras
59 Chapter 5: Judiciary
What are the Different Branches of the
Legal System?
The above case of the dowry death falls within what is
considered a crime against society and is a violation of
criminal law. In addition to criminal law, the legal system
also deals with civil law cases. You read in Chapter 4 of
how a new civil law was passed in 2006 to protect women
against domestic violence. Look at the following table to
understand some of the significant differences between
criminal and civil law.
No. Criminal Law Civil Law
1. Deals with conduct or acts that the Deals with any harm or injury to rights
law defines as offences. For example, of individuals. For example, disputes
theft, harassing a woman to bring more relating to sale of land, purchase of
dowry, murder. goods, rent matters, divorce cases.
2. 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 only.
police who investigate the crime after In a rent matter, either the landlord or
which a case is filed in the court. tenant can file a case.
3. 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.
Fill in the table given below based on what you have understood about criminal and civil law.
Q
Description of Violation Branch of Law Procedure to be
Followed
4
Photo 1. In 2001, the drought in Rajasthan and Orissa meant that millions faced an acute shortage of food.
Photo 2. Meanwhile the government godowns were full of grain. Often this was being eaten away by rats.
Photo 3. In this situation of hunger amidst plenty an organisation called the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties or PUCL filed a PIL in the Supreme
Court. It stated that the fundamental Right to Life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution included the Right to Food. The states excuse that
it did not have adequate funds was shown to be wrong because the godowns were overflowing with grains. The Supreme Court ruled that the State
had a duty to provide food to all.
Photo 4. It, therefore, directed the government to provide more employment, to provide food at cheaper prices through the government ration shops,
and to provide mid-day meals to children. It also appointed two Food Commissioners to report on the implementation of government schemes.
61 Chapter 5: Judiciary
For the common person, access to courts is access to justice.
The courts exercise a crucial role in interpreting the
Fundamental Rights of citizens and as you saw in the above
case, the courts interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution
on the Right to Life to include the Right to Food. They,
therefore, ordered the State to take certain steps to provide
food for all including the mid-day meal scheme.
The judgment of the Olga Tellis vs Bombay Municipal Corporation established the Right
to Livelihood as part of the Right to Life. The following excerpts from the judgment point
to the ways in which the judges linked the issue of the Right to Life to that of livelihood:
The sweep of the Right to Life, conferred by Article 21 is wide and far reaching. Life
means something more than mere animal existence. It does not mean merely that life
cannot be extinguished or taken away as, for example, by the imposition and execution of
the death sentence, except according to procedure established by law. That is but one
aspect of the Right to Life. An equally important facet of that right is the right to
livelihood because no person can live without the means of living, that is, the means
of livelihood.
That the eviction of a person from a pavement or slum will inevitably lead to the
deprivation of his means of livelihood, is a proposition which does not have to be
established in each individual case . In the present case that facts constituting
empirical evidence justify the conclusion that the petitioners live in slums and on
pavements because they have small jobs to nurse in the city and for them there is
nowhere else to live. They choose a pavement or a slum in the vicinity of their place of
work and to loose the pavement or the slum is to loose the job. The conclusion therefore
is that the eviction of the petitioners will lead to deprivation of their livelihood and
consequently to the deprivation of life.
63 Chapter 5: Judiciary
Exercises
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?
2. Re-read the list of Fundamental Rights provided in Chapter 1. How do you think the Right to
Constitutional Remedies connects to the idea of judicial review?
3. 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 class.
Supreme Court
High Court
Lower Court
4. Keeping the Sudha Goel case in mind, tick the sentences that are true and correct the ones that
are false.
(a) The accused took the case to the High Court because they were unhappy with the decision of
the Trial Court.
(b) They went to the High Court after the Supreme Court had given its decision.
(c) If they do not like the Supreme Court verdict, the accused can go back again to the Trial
Court.
5. 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?
6. Re-read excerpts from the judgment on the Olga Tellis vs Bombay Municipal Corporation case.
Now write in your own words what the judges meant when they said that the Right to Livelihood
was part of the Right to Life.
8. Make sentences with each of the glossary words given on the next page.
GLOSSARY
Acquit: This refers to the court declaring that a person is not guilty of the crime which
he/she was tried for by the court.
To Appeal: In the context of this chapter this refers to a petition filed before a higher
court to hear a case that has already been decided by a lower court.
Compensation: In the context of this chapter this refers to money given to make
amends for an injury or a loss.
Eviction: In the context of this chapter this refers to the removal of persons from land/
homes that they are currently living in.
Violation: In the context of this chapter it refers both to the act of breaking a law as
well as to the breach or infringement of Fundamental Rights.
65 Chapter 5: Judiciary