Law – A system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through all forms of government and social institutions to govern behavior is called law.
Or
The system of rules which a particular country or community recognises as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties
Some of the important factors in law-making:
The authority of the state is needed
Only certain institutions can make law
The institutions that make law have been given the authority to do so
Sanctions exist for breaking the law
The sanctions are imposed by those given state authority to do so.
Do Laws Apply to All?
As there should be no arbitrary exercise of power in independent India therefore 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.
All laws apply equally to all citizens of the country and 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.
In ancient India, there were innumerable and overlapping local laws which did not apply equally to all.
The punishment for the same crime varied depending upon their caste background with lower castes being more harshly penalised or punished.
Members of the Constituent Assembly were agreed there should be no arbitrary exercise of power in Independent India.
To establish a law, they instituted several provisions in the Constitution.
The British colonialists introduced the rule of law in India.
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Important fact:
Another example of British arbitrariness was the Rowlatt Act which allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial.
Indian nationalists including Mahatma Gandhi were vehement in their opposition to the Rowlatt bills.
Despite the large number of protests, the Rowlatt Act came into effect on 10 March 1919. In Punjab, protests against this Act continued quite actively and on April 10 two leaders of the movement, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested.
To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.
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.
Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire and many more were wounded including women and children.
This painting shows troops firing on the people during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Historians have disputed this claim as:
The colonial law was arbitrary
The Indian nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal sphere.
The British law of the Sedition Act of 1870 set a perfect example of the arbitrariness.
Under this Act, a person protesting or criticising the British government could be arrested without due trial.
Indian nationalists began protesting and criticising the arbitrary use of authority by the British.
They 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 law as including ideas of justice.
By the end of the 19th century, the Indian legal profession began emerging and demanded respect in colonial courts by using laws to defend the legal rights of Indians.
Indian judges began to play a greater role in decisions-making.
With the adoption of the Constitution, laws for the country began to be made by the representatives.
Ever year, representatives pass new laws as well as revise the existing ones.
Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005:
According to this law, sons, daughters & their mothers can get an equal share of family property.
How Do New Laws Come About?
The Parliament has an important role in making laws.
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.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 was implemented to protect women from being abused and injured by male.
Domestic Violence: The injury or harm caused by an adult male (husband) to his wife.
The role of citizens is crucial in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws.
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.
Important fact:
Domestic violence 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.
Abuse of the woman can also include verbal, sexual and economic abuse.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 extends the understanding of the term ‘domestic’ to include all women who ‘live or have lived together in a shared household’ with the male member who is perpetrating the violence.
In December 2002, the Standing Committee submitted its recommendations to the Rajya Sabha and these were also tabled in the Lok Sabha.
The Committee’s report accepted most of the demands of the women’s groups.
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.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act came into effect in 2006.
Unpopular and Controversial Laws:
Sometimes the Parliament passes laws that turn out to be very popular.
Sometimes a law can be constitutionally valid and legal, but it can continue to be unpopular and unacceptable to people because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and harmful.
People might criticize this law, hold public meetings, write about it in newspaper, report to TV news channels etc.
In a democracy, citizens can express their unwillingness to accept repressive laws framed by the Parliament.
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.
If the law favours one group and disregards the other, it will be controversial and lead to conflict.
People who think that the law is not fair can approach the court to decide.
The court has the power to modify or cancel laws if it finds that they don’t adhere to the Constitution.
In India, role of citizens does not end with electing representatives, they also analyse 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.
Conclusion:
It is the extent; involvement and enthusiasm of the people that helps Parliament perform its representative functions properly.
