Comprehension

The crisis of justice that is the subject matter of discussion in the media today is in fact the crisis of “justice for the middle class”. The main difference between India and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries is that whereas the middle class in these countries has reasonable access to justice, in India it does not. A vocal and powerful middle class has emerged in India since 1991. It is demanding reasonable access to justice. Much of the judicial reform effort will help meet this demand…
The question of justice for the poor is, however, an altogether different challenge. No country in the world has been able to secure justice for the poor. Most of the jails of the richest countries are filled with the poorest. The “masses” are more often victims of the criminal justice system than of crime. In India as well, jails are almost exclusively filled with the poor. The civil justice system is hardly accessible to them. They are often victimised by lawyers, touts and court staff. They are docket-excluded, a new type of untouchability. The language and the logic—and the colonial and feudal culture—of the judicial system are alien to them. It rarely takes cognisance of their needs and interests. 
Their main concern, therefore, is to escape the attention of the justice system, criminal and civil. A landless Dalit person in the interior of Madhya Pradesh once gave me an insightful definition of a court from the perspective of the masses: “A court is a place where you are forcibly taken by the police to be punished; no one goes to a court.” In contrast, many lawyers and judges colloquially define a court as “a temple of justice where rights are protected”. 
These sharply divergent visions mean that justice for one section is often injustice for another. Protecting the livelihood of traditional taxi and auto drivers from predatory pricing by corporate app-based taxi providers by imaginatively using the available tools of law to delay their incursion would be seen by the rich and by sections of the middle class as a failure of the judicial system, and possibly as also resulting in a downgrading of the “ease of doing business” measure. However, the masses would see such a judicial intervention as strong evidence of a good justice system. Although the conflict over competing visions of the nation and conflicting demands from social and economic segments have confined judicial reform of judicial administration mainly to “neutral” areas such as process reform, procedural law, technology, planning and court and case management, judge strength, and the workload of judges, there has been considerable improvement in these areas, and the judicial system has improved its performance. 
[Extracted, with edits, from “Justice and the Two Ideas of India”, by G. Mohan Gopal, Frontline]

Question: 1

What is the central thesis of the above extract?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • The practice of untouchability takes various forms in modern India.
  • The imagination of justice for the rich and poor is vastly different.
  • Addressing judge strength and case-load management does not affect the performance of the judicial system.
  • Protecting the livelihood of traditional taxi drivers is contrary to the goals of ease of doing business
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The passage highlights how the middle class and the masses have different perspectives on justice. The middle class seeks reasonable access to the judicial system, while the poor see the system as exploitative and avoid it.
The Correct Answer is option (B): The imagination of justice for the rich and poor is vastly different.

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Question: 2

What does the author mean by ‘docket-excluded’ in the second paragraph?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • The poor do not have easy access to the justice system.
  • Courts do not list bail petitions of poor undertrial prisoners who populate the country’s jails.
  • The poor reject the judicial system as being alien to their language and logic.
  • The rich are excluded from the country’s prisons, which are mostly populated by the poor.
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

The term ”docket-excluded” refers to the poor being excluded from the justice system. They are often unable to access justice due to economic and social barriers, and thus, they avoid the judicial system.
The Correct Answer is option (A): The poor do not have easy access to the justice system.

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Question: 3

Which of the following words best describes the experience of different segments of people with the justice system as described in the third paragraph?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • Symbiotic
  • Affective
  • Conflicting
  • Inter-dependent
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The passage describes how different segments of society have conflicting experiences with the justice system. While the middle class sees it as a protector of rights, the poor view it as a place of punishment.
The Correct Answer is option (C): Conflicting

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Question: 4

Which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree with?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • The judicial system reflects the same power relationships as those that exist in society.
  • Access to the judicial system is determined more by a person’s economic status such as wealth and income, than by their social status, such as religion and caste.
  • The judicial system was made by the rich, for the rich, of the rich.
  • None of the above.
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

The author discusses how the judicial system favors the middle class and often excludes the poor, reflecting the same power dynamics seen in society at large.
The Correct Answer is option (A): The judicial system reflects the same power relationships as those that exist in society.

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Question: 5

Which of the following statements is the author most likely to disagree with?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • A truly representative democracy would ensure that the interests of the poor are also represented in the judicial system.
  • The Law ensures equality both in text and in practise.
  • The poor suffer most at the hands of lawyers and touts, compared to judges who might still pronounce judgments in their favour from time to time.
  • All of the above.
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The author suggests that the justice system is biased against the poor and that the law, in practice, does not ensure equality, especially for marginalized groups.
The Correct Answer is option (B): The Law ensures equality both in text and in practise.

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Question: 6

What makes reform of judicial administration a ‘neutral’ area?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2024
  • Persons across socio-economic strata agree on the need to reform judicial administration.
  • There is consensus among political parties across the ideological and regional spectrum on reforms to judicial administration.
  • Reforms to judicial administration do not favour one class of people over another
  • Reform of judicial administration is mandated by the Constitution, and thus lies beyond political considerations.
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The author explains that reforms to judicial administration focus on neutral areas like process reform, technology, and case management, which do not favor any particular class or social group.
The Correct Answer is option (C): Reforms to judicial administration do not favour one class of people over another

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