Q2 of 7 Page 76

Do you think the victims would get justice if only one person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system? Why not?

If a single person start performing all the functions of the criminal justice system then it becomes impossible to give justice to the victims because of the following points:

(a) Every function requires special skill to perform the task and if only one person performs all the functions then there is least possibility of cross-checking the solution of the problem.


(b) There is a systematic way to give justice.


e.g.: The police receive a complaint, the defense lawyer tries to define the accused, the judge gives decision in the court and decides the punishment for the culprit.


If only one person performed all these functions of the criminal justice system then it will lead to end of the democratic system.


More from this chapter

All 7 →
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 40km away have damaged the ground on which the Final between both team 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 are 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 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



Public Prosecutor



cross examine the witnesses




take photographs of burnt homes



Defence Lawyer



record the evidence




arrest the Fiesta fans



Judge



writes the judgment




argue the case for the victims




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


 3

State two reasons why do you believe that different persons need to play different roles as the part of the criminal justice system?

 1

Why do you think there is a rule that confessions made during police custody cannot be used as evidence against the accused?

 1

Now let us return to the story of Shanti and answer the following questions:

(a) When Shanti was arrested for theft, S.I. Rao also kept her brother Sushil in the police lock up for two days. Was it legal for the police to detain him? Does it violate the D.K. Basu guidelines?


(b) Did S.I. Rao do enough to question witnesses and compile evidence before arresting Shanti and filing a case against her? In keeping with the duties of the police as stated above, what else do you think S.I. Rao could have done as part of his investigation?