Law Faculty

Independent Contractor An independent contractor is a person appointed by the employer to turn out a piece of job. He is different from a servant in as much as a servant is a person who works under the control and…

Vicarious Liability Generally speaking a person is liable for his own acts, but in many cases he may be held responsible for the torts committed by others. This is known as the ‘vicarious liability’ i.e. liability incurred for, or instead…

Rule of Absolute Liability In M.C. Mehta v Union of India (AIR 1987 SC 1086), the Supreme Court evolved the rule of `absolute liability’ as part of Indian law in preference to the rule of strict liability laid down in…

Applicability of Rylands Rule in India The rule of strict liability is applicable in India, however, with certain deviations. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, recognizes liability of the owner or insurer of the vehicle, without proof of any negligence (`no…

Exceptions to the Rylands rule (Defences) : The rule of strict liability has been made subject to so many exceptions since it was propounded in 1865 that it has lost much of its sting. The following exceptions to the rule…

Strict Liability Simply stated the rule of strict liability makes the defendant liable for accidental harms caused without any intention and negligence on his part. In other words, sometimes the law recognizes ‘no fault’ liability. The undertakers of hazardous or…

Act of God (vis major) : General Defences in Tort According to Pollock act of God is an “operation of natural forces so unexpected that no human foresight or skill could reasonably be expected to anticipate it”. According to Halsbury’s…

Statutory Authority : General Defences in Tort When a statute authorises the doing of an act, which would otherwise be a tort, the party injured has no remedy except the one (if any) provided by the statue itself. The immunity…

Plaintiff, the Wrongdoer : General Defences in Tort One of the principles of equity is that a party who wants some relief must go to the court with clean hands. However, it is doubtful whether the defendant can take such…

Necessity : General Defences in Tort An act causing damage, if done under necessity to prevent a greater evil is not actionable even though the harm was caused intentionally. The defence of necessity is based on the maxim ‘salus populi…

Private Defence : General Defences in Tort The right of private defence is the right to protect one’s own person and property against the unlawful aggression of others. The law permits use of reasonable force to protect one’s person or…

Mistake means when one commits an error in understanding or when one understands or perceives wrongly. Mistake may be of two kinds—(a) Mistake of fact, and (b) Mistake of law. Mistake whether of fact or of law, is generally no…

The defendant may escape liability in tort by establishing that the cause of the plaintiff, injury was an accident rather than any wilful or negligent act on his part. Accident means an unexpected injury and if the same could not…

Limitations/ Exceptions to the application of volenti non fit injuria (i) Illegal consent- No consent can legalize an unlawful act e.g. fighting with naked fists or duel with sharp swords. No person can licence another to commit a crime (R…

Volenti non fit Injuria According to the general principle of law, every man is the best judge of his interest and therefore one who voluntarily agrees to suffer harm is not allowed to complain for that. Consent to suffer harm…

In an action for a tort, the defendant may avoid his liability by taking the plea of some defence. There are some general defences, which may be taken against action for a number of wrongs: (1) Volenti non fit injuria (Defence of…

In many cases, a person voluntarily binds himself by a contract to perform some duty, which already lies upon him independently of any contract. The breach of such a contract is also a tort. For example, the right of injured…

Unlike criminal law, where mens rea or guilty mind is an important factor to determine a crime, in a tort the state of mind of a person is not so important, and in fact irrelevant, except in certain cases (because…

First on the basis of meaning – Injuria sine damunm means violation of a legal right without actual loss or damages where as Damnum sine injuria means actual or substantial Damages without infringement of a legal right. Second on the…