The Constitution and the judiciary
Class 8 Social Science · Civics · 25 questions with answers
Civics questions ask for situations and children answer with definitions. A Fundamental Right stated correctly is a mark; the same right with a case where it would actually matter is the answer. Every question here asks for both, because that is what the paper does and almost nobody is told so.
- States a Fundamental Right and gives a situation where it applies
- Explains why the Constitution has particular features
- Traces how a bill becomes a law
- Distinguishes a criminal case from a civil one
Exercise 1 of 3 · 9 questions
Name the right, then give a situation where it would matter.
Write the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
A shop refusing service on grounds of caste is a violation of the Right to Equality. This exercise runs the question backwards on purpose - from the situation to the right - because that is the harder direction and it is the one the paper asks. A child who can only go from the name to the definition has learned a list; a child who can start from a situation has understood what the rights are for.
- 1)A shop refuses to serve someone because of their caste.
- 2)A newspaper is stopped from publishing a report critical of a state government.
- 3)A child of eleven is employed in a factory.
- 4)A family is prevented from practising their religion.
- 5)A person is detained without being told why.
- 6)A worker is forced to work without pay to repay a debt
- 7)A citizen wishes to move to another state to look for work
- 8)A person is tried twice for the same offence
- 9)A community wants to run its own school in its own language
Answers
- 1) The Right to Equality, which forbids discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
- 2) The Right to Freedom, which includes freedom of speech and expression.
- 3) The Right against Exploitation, which prohibits the employment of children in hazardous work and forbids forced labour.
- 4) The Right to Freedom of Religion, which allows every person to profess, practise and propagate the religion of their choice.
- 5) The Right to Constitutional Remedies, which allows a person to approach the courts directly when a Fundamental Right is violated.
- 6) The right against exploitation. Bonded labour is prohibited, and it would apply to anyone forced to work to clear a debt.
- 7) The right to freedom - specifically the freedom to move freely and reside anywhere in India.
- 8) The right to freedom, which protects a person from being punished twice for the same offence.
- 9) Cultural and educational rights, which let minorities conserve their language and run their own educational institutions.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 8 questions
Explain why the Constitution has this feature. Two or three sentences.
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
Federalism exists because India is too large and too diverse for one government to reflect every region's needs. Notice the shape - the problem first, then the feature as an answer to it. A definition of federalism is worth a mark. The problem it solves is what shows the child understands why anyone bothered to write it into a constitution.
- 1)Federalism
- 2)Separation of powers
- 3)Secularism
- 4)An independent judiciary
- 5)Fundamental Rights
- 6)Universal adult franchise
- 7)A written Constitution
- 8)The provision for amendment
Answers
- 1) Because India is very large and very diverse, and a single central government could not reflect the needs of every region. Power is therefore divided between the Union and the states, each with its own areas of responsibility.
- 2) Because concentrating all power in one place invites its misuse. The legislature makes laws, the executive implements them and the judiciary interprets them, and each acts as a check on the others.
- 3) Because India has people of many faiths, and a state that favoured one would place the rest at a disadvantage. The state therefore keeps a distance from all religions and does not adopt any as official.
- 4) Because the courts must be able to rule against the government itself when a law or an action violates the Constitution. Judges are therefore not appointed or removed at the government's convenience.
- 5) Because a majority government could otherwise pass laws that take away basic freedoms. Writing rights into the Constitution puts them beyond the reach of an ordinary law.
- 6) Because a democracy that gave the vote only to some would be run for those people alone. Giving every adult the vote makes the government answerable to the whole population.
- 7) Because in a country this large and varied, the powers of each institution have to be set down and knowable. An unwritten arrangement would leave too much to whoever held power at the time.
- 8) Because a Constitution written in 1950 cannot foresee everything. Allowing amendment lets it change with the country, while the difficulty of amending it stops changes being made lightly.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 8 questions
Answer in two or three sentences.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
The right to constitutional remedies matters most because it makes every other right enforceable. Without it, the rest are statements rather than protections. That is a Civics answer at its best - it does not describe the right, it explains what the Constitution would be missing without it, and that is the level Class 10 will expect.
- 1)How does a bill become a law?
- 2)What is the difference between a criminal case and a civil case? Give one example of each.
- 3)What does it mean to say that everyone is equal before the law?
- 4)Why is the right to constitutional remedies called the most important right?
- 5)What is an FIR, and why does it matter?
- 6)What is meant by the presumption of innocence?
- 7)Why is there a right to appeal to a higher court?
- 8)What is public interest litigation?
Answers
- 1) A bill is introduced in Parliament, discussed and debated, and voted on in both Houses. If both pass it, it goes to the President, and it becomes law once the President gives assent.
- 2) A criminal case involves an act defined as an offence against society, such as theft or assault, and is prosecuted by the state. A civil case involves a dispute between parties over rights or property, such as a disagreement over the ownership of land.
- 3) It means the law applies in the same way to every person regardless of their wealth, position or background, and that nobody is above it - including those who make and enforce it.
- 4) Because it is the right that makes the others enforceable. Without a way to approach the courts when a right is violated, the remaining rights would exist on paper and nowhere else - which is why Dr Ambedkar described it as the heart and soul of the Constitution.
- 5) A First Information Report is the written record the police make when a cognisable offence is reported. It matters because without it there is no official record and no investigation can properly begin.
- 6) That a person accused of a crime is treated as innocent until the prosecution proves guilt. The burden of proof is on the state, not on the accused to prove innocence.
- 7) Because judges can be mistaken and evidence can be misread. An appeal lets a higher court examine the decision, which is a check on a single court's error.
- 8) A case filed on behalf of people who cannot approach the court themselves, on a matter of public concern. It matters because it lets the courts hear issues affecting people without the money or knowledge to sue.
While your child works
- Every general statement needs a situation. Ask 'when would this actually matter to someone?' after each answer.
- The features questions want the problem before the feature. Definitions alone are the cheaper half.
- Civics answers are marked on reasoning, so an answer argued differently from the key can be entirely correct.