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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY_VISIT TO COURT 
 
Picture source - http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/National/2018-07-29/India-needs-1023-special-
courts-to-try-cases-of-rape-and-child-rape-Govt/401959 
 
CONTENTS 
Community engagement activity_Visit to court ................................................................................................... 1 
Teacher’s Section ................................................................................................................................................... 2 
Expected Outcomes – ........................................................................................................................................ 2 
Pre –planning ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 
Student’s Section – For Print ................................................................................................................................. 3 
Handout 1 ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 
Court Visit Report – ................................................................................................................................................ 5 
Option 1 – Art based activity ............................................................................................................................. 5 
Option 2 – Write a short Report ........................................................................................................................ 5

TEACHER’S SECTION

EXPECTED OUTCOMES –

1. Students will have the opportunity to learn in a real-world setting and bridge the gap

between theory and practice

2. Students will get exposed to experiential learning activities outside the classroom

3. Students will witness the place of historic judgements for lifelong learning experiences

PRE –PLANNING

1. Take permissions from school management and the court well in advance. Arrange for

transport.

2. Take consent form from selected class and students for visit.

3. Explain to the students that they are going to visit a court and define ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ for

the visit. Explain Reporting format and what students need to observe and record.

4. Check if cameras are permitted. If allowed, make some student representative responsible

for clicking pictures.

5. Tell the group in brief about the historical importance of the court they are going to visit

with the help of given handout.

6. Ask the students to discuss the trip details with their parents and ask them about the event.

7. Research about the place in advance and find out which historical decisions have been taken

in the court.

8. Instruct students to keep a notepad and a pen with them for the visit day and record the

experience.

9. Distribute the handout to students to understand the important powers of judiciary in Indian

constitution and importance of courts.

STUDENT’S SECTION – FOR PRINT

HANDOUT 1

“Swarajya is my birthright and I shall have it”

The famous quote by Lokmanya Tilak who was one of the first and strongest advocates of Swaraj ("self-rule")

and a strong radical in Indian consciousness.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak or Lokmanya Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an

Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an independence activist. He was the first leader of the

Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities called him "The father of the Indian unrest."

He was also conferred with the title of ‘Lokmanya’, which means ‘accepted by the people’.

During his lifetime, Bal Gangadhar Tilak had been tried for Sedition Charges three times by the British rulers -in

1897, 1909 and 1916. In 1897, Tilak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for inciting the people against the

British.

It was the 1909 sedition case, which is worth recalling even though over a century has passed after it.

Events leading to 1909 trial of Tilak:

*Pic source - https://twitter.com/mumbaiheritage/status/817774512724963328

On 30 April 1908, two youths, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, threw a bomb on a carriage at Muzzafarpur,

to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford of Calcutta, but erroneously killed two women traveling

in it. While Chaki committed suicide when caught, Bose was hanged. Tilak, in his paper Kesari, defended the

revolutionaries and called for immediate Swaraj or self-rule. The Government swiftly charged him with sedition.

Tilak's sedition trial was held on 24 June 1908. Tilak was arrested from Bombay on a charge of sedition and 153A

IPC in respect of two articles carried in Kesari on 12 May and 9 June 1908.

The article dated 12 May was titled 'The Country's Misfortune' and that of 9 June has titled 'These Remedies Are

Not Lasting'. His house in Poona was searched by the police that found a postcard with the names of two books

on explosives written on it. The Chief Presidency Magistrate of Bombay declined an application for bail. Sanction

for the prosecution was swiftly granted and Tilak was committed to stand trial at the sessions of the Bombay

High Court. Tilak was defended by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, later by Joseph Baptista and later by himself assisted

by a battery of counsel.

The Bombay High court witnessed the historic trial of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The courtroom is also of

immense historic significance with the most famous trial being that of Tilak in 1908. Tilak’s words at the trial are

immortalised on a plaque outside the court room—“In spite of the verdict of the jury I maintain that I am

innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations and it may be the will of providence

that the cause which I represent may prosper more by suffering than by my remaining free.’’

Students in Mumbai can visit the Bombay high court and witness the glory of that court room where Lokmanya

Tilak fought his own case for justice.

The students in schools other than Mumbai could visit the respective high courts, session’s courts or other

courts. They can research and record some historic cases from the respective courts they visited in their city.

COURT VISIT REPORT –

OPTION 1 – ART BASED ACTIVITY

1. Group Exercise – Make groups of 4-5 students and give them the freedom to draw the picture/sketch

of court room. If students have clicked pictures they can make a collage/photo magazine by using

pictures and display in the classroom.

OPTION 2 – WRITE A SHORT REPORT

*To be filled by students individually

Name - ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Grade - ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Place of Visit - …………………………………………………………………………………….

Date of Visit - ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Things/places of historical importance I have noticed in the court –

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

My Learnings/Feelings/Experience of the visit –

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………