NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Our Criminal Justice System contain solutions to the exercises given in the Civics book Social and Political Life. These answers have been explained in a manner that you will easily understand all the concepts and get your doubts cleared without even seeking anyone’s assistance. You can read and download all the questions and answers in PDF format.
Class 8 Civics Chapter 6 Understanding Our Criminal Justice System NCERT Textbook Questions Solved
Question: 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. Defense 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 |
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 |
Now take the same situation but ask one student who is a supporter of tghe Fiesta Club to perform 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?
Solution:
| Roles | Functions |
| Police | record the statements of witnesses take photographs of burnt homes record the evidence arrest the Fiesta fans get the assaulted women medically examined |
| Public Prosecutor | examine the witnesses in court cross examine the witnesses argue the case for the victims |
| Defence Lawyer | examine the witnesses in court Meet the accused persons cross examine the witnesses |
| Judge | hear the witnesses writes the judgment decide for how many years the accused will be put in jail pass the judgment conduct a fair trial |
If only one person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system he would be influenced by several internal and external prejudices . Thus a separation of powers is necessary within a judicial system too, since absolute power can never be fair.
Different persons need to play different roles as a part of the criminal justice system because all aspects of an investigation and trial cannot be conducted by one person alone as they entail diverse kinds of work including, arrests, recording of witness statements, defense of accused and victims’ parties, passing of a fair trial and a judicially correct judgment. Thus, there should be different persons handling different offices in the criminal justice system to think wisely, understand the situations and pronounce the verdict in accordance with the law. If all these powers are vested in one person alone, they might be misused and will thereby violate the rule of law based on equal and just decisions.