SPL(VIII) LESSON-4 UNDERSTANDING LAWS (LESSON NOTES)

SPL(VIII) LESSON-4

UNDERSTANDING LAWS

(LESSON NOTES)

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v LAWS

Ø The system of rules which a particular country or community recognises as regulating the actions of its members and which enforce by the imposition of penalties are known as laws.

v DO LAWS APPLY TO ALL:

Ø Indian leaders decided that there should be no arbitrary exercise of power in independent India. The members of Constituent Assembly instituted several provisions in the Constitution that would establish the rule of law.

§  All persons in independent India are equal before the law.

IN RULE OF LAW RICH AND POWERFUL PERSONS ALSO TREATED EQUALLY

§  All laws apply equally to all citizens of the country.

§  No one can be above the law. That means, the law cannot discriminate between persons on the basis of their religion, caste or gender. Any crime or violation of law has a specific punishment.

v LAWS IN ANCIENT INDIA

Ø In ancient India, there were innumerable and overlapping local laws which did not apply equally to all.

Ø The punishment for the same crime varied depending upon their caste background with lower castes being more harshly penalized or punished.

Ø During British period the laws were not equal for all.

v COLONIAL LAWS

Ø Historians claim that the colonial laws were arbitrary. There are so many example of the arbitrariness.

§  Sedition Act of 1870 :-Under this Act, a person protesting or criticising the British government could be arrested without due trial.

§  ROWLETT ACT 1919:- It was passed by the British parliament in 1919. It allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial.

v JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE

Ø In Punjab, protests against Rowlett Act continued quite actively.

Ø On April 10 two leaders of the movement, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested.

Ø To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.

Ø General Dyer entered the park with his troops. They closed the only exit and without giving any warning General Dyer ordered the troops to fire.

Ø Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire and many more were wounded including women and children. This was known as Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

v ROLE OF INDIANS IN EVOLUTION OF RULE OF LAW  

Ø The Indian nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal sphere.

Ø They began fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea of law from a set of rules.

Ø By the end of the 19th century, the Indian legal professionals demanded respect in colonial courts by using laws to defend the legal rights of Indians.

Ø With the adoption of the Constitution, laws for the country began to be made by the representatives.

v Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005: 

Ø According to this law, sons, daughters & their mothers can get an equal share of family property.

v HOW DO NEW LAWS COME ABOUT:

Ø The Parliament has an important role in making laws. An important role of Parliament is to be sensitive to the problems faced by people.

Ø The role of citizens is crucial in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws.

Ø From establishing the need for a new law to its being passed, at every stage of the process the voice of the citizen is a crucial element which makes the work of Parliament more accessible and transparent.

Ø Let us see the example of Domestic violence Act 2005.

v DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Ø The injury or harm caused by an adult male (husband) to his wife is known as domestic violence.

v PROCEDURE OF DOMESTICE VIOLENCE ACT-2005

Ø Demand of new laws was raised in different forms by people in 1990s to protect women from domestic violence.

Ø In 1999, a group of lawyers and activists took the lead in drafting the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill.

Ø Now people raised the demand that the Government should introduce this bill in parliament soon.

Ø Finally the Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2002 and published it in newspaper, but people have many objections.

Ø So many women’s organisations as National Commission for Women made their submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in 2002.

Ø The committee submitted its recommendations to the Rajya Sabha and

Lok Sabha. It accepted most of the demands of the women’s groups.

Ø Finally a new bill was reintroduced in Parliament in 2005. After being passed in both houses of Parliament, it was sent to the President for his assent.

Ø Finally the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act came into effect in 2006.

v UNPOPULAR LAWS

Ø Sometimes the Parliament passes laws that turn out to be very popular.

Ø But sometimes it may be unpopular because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and harmful.

Ø People might criticise this law, hold public meetings, write about it in newspaper, report to TV news channels etc.

Ø In a democracy, citizens can express their unwillingness to accept repressive laws framed by the Parliament.

Ø When a large member of people begins to feel that a wrong law has been passed, then there is pressure on the Parliament to change it.

v CONTROVERSIAL LAWS:

Ø If the law favours one group and disregards the other, it will be controversial and lead to conflict.

Ø For example municipal laws on the use of space of pavement or footpath often make hawking and street vendors illegal. But it affects the livelihood of these vendors.

Ø People who think that the law is not fair can approach the court to decide.

Ø The court has the power to modify or cancel laws if it finds that they don’t adhere to the Constitution.

v ROLE OF CITIZENS

Ø In India, role of citizens does not end with electing representatives, they also analyze the work done by MP’s and criticize their actions, if needed. Therefore, it is stated that people in a democratic country have the right to protest against the unjust laws.

v CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Ø The movement which demands to abolish the discrimination on the basis of skin colour or race was known as civil right movement. It started in 1955 with refusal of Rosa Park, Afro-American woman in America to leave seat for a white person.

v Civil Rights Act

Ø The act which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin in the U.S.A. It was passed in 1964.

v TERMS-

Ø CRITICISE: To find fault with or disapprove of a person or thing.

Ø EVOLUTION: it refers to the way in which protecting women against domestic violence developed from an urgently-felt need to a new law that can be enforced throughout the country.

Ø SEDITION: This applies to anything that the government might consider as stirring up resistance or rebellion against it.

Ø REPRESSIVE:-it refers to laws that brutally control persons and often prevent them from exercising their Fundamental Rights including Right to Speech and Assembly