NCERT Solutions
Class 8 Social Science
Understanding Our Criminal Justice System

Q.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
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?
Roles |
Functions |
Police
Public Prosecutor
Defence Lawyer
Judge |
Hear the witness |
Record the statements of witness |
|
Cross examine the witnesses |
|
Take photographs of burnt homes |
|
Record the evidence |
|
Arrest the fiesta fans |
|
Writes the judgement |
|
Argue the case for the victim |
|
Decide for how many years 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 |
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.
Police - Record the statements of witness, take photographs of burnt homes, Arrest the fiesta fans, Get the assaulted women medically examined.
Public Prosecutor - Cross examine the witnesses, Examine the witnesses in court, Argue the case for the victim.
Defence Lawyer - Cross examine the witnesses, Meet the accused person, Examine the witnesses in court.
Judge - Hear the witness, Writes the judgement, decide for how many years the accused will be put in jail, Pass the judgment.
If one person handled every aspect of the criminal justice system, the victims would not receive justice because a judicial system also requires separation of powers because unlimited authority can never be just, the victims would not receive justice.
Since an investigation and trial require a variety of tasks, including making arrests, documenting witness statements, gathering evidence, defending the accused and victims' parties, passing a fair trial, and rendering a just verdict, multiple people must play various roles as part of the criminal justice system. The rule of law, which is founded on fair and just decisions, would be broken if all these powers were given to one person alone.