Concept of Civil Wrong
Are these acts wrongs ?
A agrees to buy B’s house for 10 lakhs. He
pays the amount but B refuses to hand
over the possession of the house.
 A invites B for dinner at his house. B
promises to attend the same but does not
do it.
 A, who is starving approaches B and
pleads to provide some food. B refuses to
do so. A falls unconscious and later dies.


A enters upon B’s property without his
consent and continues to remain on it
even when asked by B to get out of it.

A enters upon the property of B injuring
the watchman and steals fruits from his
garden.
Tort – derived from Latin term “Tortum”
which implies conduct that is twisted
 Tortious liability

 Arises
from a breach of duty fixed by law
 This duty is towards persons generally
 Its breach is redressed by civil action for
unliquidated damages
Essentials of a Tort
 There
must be a wrongful act committed by a
person
 It must result in legal damage to another
 Injury without damage actionable
(injuria sine damno)
 Damage
without injury not actionable
(damnum sine injuria)
 It
must give rise to a legal remedy
(ubi jus ibi remedium)
Distinction between a Tort and a
Breach of Contract

Tort

Breach of Contract

Duty imposed by law


Violation of a right in


Damages are
unliquidated

rem
Duty imposed by the
parties to the contract
Violation of a right in
personam
Damages are
liquidated
Distinction between a Tort and a
Crime

Both are violations of rights in rem

In both the cases, duties are imposed by
law

Tort

Crime

Private Wrong

Public Wrong

Breach of Private
Duties
Object of action is
compensation

Breach of Public Duties

Individual has to
approach a Civil Court
for redressal

Object of action is
punishing the wrong
doer
State initiates
prosecution against
the wrong doer


Kinds of Torts

Torts affecting the person
 Assault
– intentionally creating an
apprehension in another person that force
would be used against him
 Battery – intentional application of force to
another without lawful justification
 False Imprisonment – total restraint on the
liberty of the person without lawful
justification

Torts affecting reputation
 Defamation
– publication of a statement
which is false and defamatory by the
defendant which refers to the plaintiff
 Libel
– defamatory statement which is addressed
to the eye and is actionable per se
 Slander – defamatory statement which is
addressed to the ear and is actionable only on
proof of damage

Malicious Prosecution
 defendant
instituting prosecution
 with malice and without reasonable and
probable cause
 against the plaintiff thereby affecting his
liberty, property and reputation and
 the prosecution must have ended in plaintiff’s
favour

Torts affecting Immovable Property
 Trespass
– unlawful entry upon the land of
another or unlawful interference with the
possession of land of another
 Dispossession – withholding the possession of
land from the rightful owner
 Injury to easements – injury to a right to
support of land and buildings, right to light
and air, right to way, right of water and right
of privacy

Torts affecting Moveable Property
 Trespass
to goods – wrongfully taking goods
out of plaintiff’s possession or forcibly
interfering with the goods
 Detention – wrongfully withholding the
immediate possession of goods from one who
is entitled to it
 Conversion – willful interference without
lawful justification with goods in a manner
inconsistent with the rights of the owner

Torts affecting both person and property
 Negligence
– breach of duty of care owed by
the defendant to the plaintiff resulting in harm
to the plaintiff
 Nuisance – unlawful interference with the use
or enjoyment of property or with the exercise
of common right
 Fraud – making a false statement knowingly
or recklessly with an intention that another
should rely and act to his detriment and the
other does so act
Remedies

Extra-judicial remedies – Remedies by the
act of the parties
 Self
help
 Abatement of Nuisance
 Distress damage feasant

Judicial Remedies – Remedies available
from the Courts
 Damages
– pecuniary compensation
 Specific Restitution of property
 Injunctions (Temporary or Permanent),
(Mandatory or Prohibitory)

Damages
 Nominal
– damages in recognition of a right
 Substantial – compensation for the actual loss
 Contemptuous – marks a disapproval of the
plaintiff’s conduct
 Exemplary – punitive in nature
Any Questions ?
Thank you