KSLU Solved Question Papers
Criminal Law II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 7
2025 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 7 Criminal Law II 2025 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2025 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2025 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2025 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five (5) Units. (2) One essay type question and short note/problem is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain the functions, duties and powers of prosecution.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: who the prosecution is and why it is a State function; the officers: Public Prosecutors, Additional and Special Public Prosecutors, Assistant Public Prosecutors and the Directorate of Prosecution (sections 18 to 20); their powers in court (sections 338 and 339); withdrawal from prosecution (section 360); their duties, including fairness to the accused; the leading case; what the Sanhita changed; a conclusion.
Who prosecutes, and why
A crime is a wrong against society, so the State prosecutes it. The victim is a witness and an interested party, but the case is conducted by officers appointed by the Government. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with them in sections 18 to 20 (old sections 24 to 25A).
The prosecuting officers
- Public Prosecutor for the High Court (section 18(1)). The Central or State Government appoints a Public Prosecutor and Additional Public Prosecutors after consulting the High Court. They conduct prosecutions, appeals and other proceedings there.
- District Public Prosecutor (section 18(3) to (6)). The State appoints a Public Prosecutor for every district. The District Magistrate, consulting the Sessions Judge, prepares a panel of names. Where a regular cadre of prosecuting officers exists, appointments come from that cadre.
- Qualifications (section 18(7)). A Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor must have practised as an advocate for at least seven years.
- Special Public Prosecutor (section 18(8)). For a case or class of cases, the Government may appoint an advocate of at least ten years' practice. The court may let the victim engage an advocate of his choice to assist.
- Assistant Public Prosecutors (section 19). They conduct prosecutions in Magistrates' courts. Where none is available, the District Magistrate may appoint another person, on fourteen days' notice to the State. A police officer who investigated the case, or who is below the rank of Inspector, cannot be appointed.
- Directorate of Prosecution (section 20). The State may set up a Directorate under a Director of Prosecution, with Deputy and Assistant Directors, under the Home Department.
Functions of the Directorate (section 20(7) to (9))
- Director. Monitors cases punishable with ten years or more, life or death, expedites them and advises on appeals.
- Deputy Director. Examines and scrutinises police reports and monitors cases punishable with seven to ten years.
- Assistant Director. Monitors cases punishable with less than seven years.
Powers in court
- Appearance (section 338(1)). The Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor in charge may appear and plead in any court where the case is pending, without written authority.
- Control over private counsel (section 338(2)). If a private person instructs an advocate, the Public Prosecutor still conducts the prosecution. The private advocate acts under his directions. With the court's permission he may file written arguments after the evidence closes.
- Permission to others (section 339). A Magistrate may permit any person, other than a police officer below Inspector, to conduct the prosecution. An officer who investigated the case cannot.
- Withdrawal (section 360). With the court's consent, the Public Prosecutor may withdraw from the prosecution before judgment. The accused is discharged if this happens before charge, and acquitted after it.
Duties
- Present the whole truth. He must place all relevant evidence before the court, whether it helps or hurts the prosecution.
- Fairness to the accused. He is not a persecutor. His aim is a just result, not a conviction at any cost.
- Protect witnesses. He must watch for threats and seek protection, now also through the witness protection scheme under section 398.
- Independent judgment. He must apply his own mind, especially when he seeks to withdraw a case, and not act only on the Government's wish.
The leading case
Facts. In Zahira Habibulla H. Sheikh v. State of Gujarat, (2004) 4 SCC 158, decided on 12 April 2004, a mob burnt the Best Bakery at Vadodara and fourteen people died. Most witnesses, including the main witness, turned hostile, and all the accused were acquitted. She later swore she had been threatened.
Held. There had been no fair trial. A Public Prosecutor is "not supposed to be a persecutor", but here even the minimum to present the case fairly was not done. The Supreme Court ordered a retrial outside the State with a new Public Prosecutor.
Why it bears. A passive or partisan prosecutor defeats the trial as surely as a biased judge.
What the Sanhita changed
- Section 20 now spells out the functions of each tier of the Directorate, linked to the gravity of offences.
- Section 18(8) lets the court allow the victim's advocate to assist a Special Public Prosecutor.
Conclusion. The prosecution is an independent public function. Public Prosecutors, Assistant Public Prosecutors and the Directorate conduct cases, control private counsel and may withdraw with the court's consent. As Zahira Habibulla H. Sheikh shows, their duty is to present the case fully and fairly. The aim is that justice is done, not that a conviction is secured.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 7 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.