SPL

CH4: UNDERSTANDING LAWS

Glossary
 Colonialism: It is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other
people or areas, often by establishing and generally with the aim of economic
dominance.
 Sedition Act 1850: The government is allowed to detain any person who is
witnessed protesting against the British government without giving them a fair
trial.
 Domestic violence: It generally refers to the injury or harm or threat of injury or
harm caused by an adult male, usually the husband, against his wife. Injury may be
caused by physically beating up the woman or by emotionally abusing her.
 Rule of Law: It means that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country and no
one can be above the law.
 Evolution: In the chapter, 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 in the entire country.
 Evolution: In the chapter, 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 in the entire country.
 Repressive: In the chapter, the term refers to laws that use brutal methods to
control persons and prevent them from exercising their Fundamental Rights.

Notes:

 Do Laws Apply to All?

Rule of laws was certainly introduced in the colonial period under the British Government
in India. Those laws were arbitrary and hence cannot be exercised in Independent India. So,
all the citizens are equal before the law.

 The laws cannot discriminate on the basis of a person’s religion, gender, caste, or
color.
 Any criminal act or violation of law is punishable as well as through which the guild
of the individual has to be established.
 All laws are applicable to everyone and no one is above the law.
 How is the Rule of Law Established in India?
As discussed above, British colonialist introduced laws which were arbitrary and that is the
reason they were disputed by the historians on this basis:

 Colonial laws were arbitrary.

 Indian nationalists were prominent in the development of the legal sphere in British
India.
 Nationalists had an idea to change the set of rules they were forced to follow by
considering ideas of justice.
 By the end of the 19th century, legal professionals and Indian judges started playing
a greater role in making the changes.
 After Independence, the constitution was successful in forming a new set of rules,
and accordingly, sons, daughters, and their mothers can get an equal share of family
property. Similarly, new laws have been enacted to control pollution and provide
employment.

 How Do New Laws Come About?

 The Parliament has an important role in making laws.

 Different society groups also played their role that raises their need for a particular law.

 An important role of Parliament is to be sensitive to the problems faced by people.

 The issue of domestic violence was brought to the attention of the Parliament and the
process adopted for this issue to become law.

 Domestic Violence act 2005 was also implemented by the constitution for the
protection of women from being abused and injured by males.

 Unpopular and Controversial Laws

 The laws passed by the constitution sometimes turn out to be unaccepted by the
general public because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and harmful.
 People tend to criticize laws, hold public meetings, write about them in the
newspaper, report to TV news channels, etc.
 Sometimes the laws are valid and legal and still a large number of people begin to
find it wrong, then the pressure gets created on Parliament to change.
 Individuals who find laws to be unfair can reach out to the court.
  If the law favors one group and disregards the other, it will be controversial and
lead to conflict.
 In such a situation people can go to the court which has the power to modify or
cancel laws if it finds that they do not adhere to the constitution.
 In a democratic country like India people have full right to protest unjust laws.

NCERT SOLUTIONS:

1. Write in your own words what you understand by the term the ‘rule of law’. In
your response include a fictitious or real example of a violation of the rule of law.
Ans:
 The rule of law is a provision of the Indian Constitution that states that all people in
independent India are equal before the law. Every law is equal for every citizen in the
country. Neither the President or any other high official is above the law. The
punishment for any crime committed will be the same for every person, irrespective of
post or power.
 For example if a Clerk is punished for corruption, the same punishment needs to be
given to a higher Official or Minister for committing the same crime of corruption.
2. State two reasons why historians refute the claim that the British introduced the
rule of law in India.
Ans: Two reasons why historians refute to claim that the British introduced the rule of law
in India are:

1. The colonial law was arbitrary

2. The Indian Nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal
sphere in British India

3. Re-read the storyboard on how a new law on domestic violence got passed.
Describe in your own words the different ways in which women’s groups worked to
make this happen.
Ans: The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 was passed with an aim
to protect women against any kind of violence, be it physical or verbal.
 Various women’s groups worked to make this happen by reporting multiple cases of
domestic violence to the to various forums.
 A group of lawyers, law students and activists worked together for drafting the
Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection Bill).
 Other than this, various Women organisations, National Commission for Women made
submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
 All these actions taken by women, together made the Government pass the bill against
domestic violence.
4. Write in your own words what you understand by the following sentence on page
44-45: They also began fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea of
law from a set of rules that they were forced to obey, to the law as including ideas of
justice.
Ans: India before independence was forced to follow the rules set by the British
Government. These set of rules were arbitrary and not were not authorised by the Indian
nationalists.
Hence the freedom struggle against the Britishers also aimed at making a set of rules that
were fair and just for all and were not just imposed on the Indians to follow. The Indian
Nationalists began to fight for their rights and wanted a set of rules that were equal for all.