Trespass to Person : Law of Torts

This article is written by Krishnaraj Choudhary, Student of Dr. Anushka Law College Udaipur. The author in this article has discussed the concept of Trespass to Person.

Trespass

Trespass can be said to be an action exceedings the limit caverd by the law.
It is an intentionally directed, unreasonable interference with one's person and property. The word "Intention" here implies committing the wrong voluntarily.
Trespass allegation can be leveled if they interference is with one's and third person's body and private property.
It is to be kept in mind that intention forms the essential component of trespass.
Unreasonable behaviour is triggered by the malafieds and ilterior intention to harass another.

Trespass to Person

Trespass to person refers to the case where there is the wrongful apprehension of a body or person.
That is, there is a wrongful apprehension of one's body or personcausing harm or injury done with malafide intention.

1. ASSAULT

It refers to causing illegal apprehension of fear in the mind of other person causing him to suffer injury can be termed as assault.
For proving assault there is no need for having suffered an physical harm.

Defination :

According to Dr. Winfield assault is an act that cause within the mind of the complainent cheap apprehension of the infliction of the battery on effort of supply to use force to another person's body.

For eg. : - To throw stone or water on an individual.

- To tug a chair beneath him.

- Causing reasonable apprehension to beat him with a stone or a stik.

Essential Elements of Assault :

An act or conduct intended to created - To prove a criminal attack, the defendant's behaviour must be motivated to create a situation of fear or danger in the victim's mind. Accident acts do not include allegation of assault.
A reasonable apprehension - Further, the victim must reasonable believe that the defendant's conduct will harm or humiliate him. The victim must understand the defendant's potentially harmful or offensive acts.
Imminent Harm - The victim's fear must be a direct response to a threat that is imminent. Future threats, such as "I will beat you tomorrow", will not result in assault charges. In addition, there must be some kind of perceived physical threat to the victim in the loss, for this reason, word by themselves generally do not constitute an attack.

Legal Defenses on charges of Assault :

Self-Defense - This could be a defense if the defendant was acting out of self-defense. They should only us the amount or display of force that is appropriate in the situation and in proportion to the force being used against them.
Intoxication - In some cases, intoxication can be a legal defense, especially in cases where intoxication affects a person's ability to act intentionally.
Coercion - This may be a defense if the defendant was forced to attack under threat of harm, ( for example, if they are being held at gunpoint and for assault at the behest of someone).
Lack of Proof - As stated above, if the elements of proof are not found or supported with the correct evidence, it can serve as a legal defense.

Remedies :

Action for Damages - Whenever the plaintiff has been wrongfully detained, he can always bring an action to claim damages. Compensation may be claimed not only for injury to the liberty but also for disgrace and humiliation which may be caused thereby.
Self Help - This is the remedy which is available to a person who while he is still under detention instead of waiting for legal action and procuring his release thereby.
Habeas Corpus - It is speedier remedy for procuring the release of a person who is wrongfully detained. Such a writ may be issued either by the Supreme Court under Article 32 or by a High Court under Article 226 of Indian Constitution.

Case : R. v/s Constanza (1997)

2. BATTERY

The use of force against someone in such a manner that in results in having a physical injury can be turned as a battery .
It can be direct like A slaps B then it is direct while the other is indirectly like pulling off a chair while the other is sitting . what is important in this is that there should be physical contact between the persons.

Defination -

According to Salmond '' Battery is the application of force to the person of another with non-lawful justification.''

Battery is accomplished assault . the applying of even the slightest quantity of force is unjust .even the slightest touch to an individual without his consent may be a battery .

Essential Elements of Battery

The following are the essential elements of battery ;

Use of force :- It means the use of force against any person without any justification. the force has been used to cause harm to another person no matter whether the harm is small or trivial in nature . the use of force is necessary while constituting offense of battery . It can be done with stick , heat or any other item which will cause harm to another person .
Force should be intentional:- For the tort of battery ,it is important that coming in contract with the defendant with the victim , was accompanied by the intention to cause make a contract . the intent of the battery is transferable as when a person attempts to hit a person without his or her permission and ends up hitting another person is still responsible for the battery .so the intent is the soul of the battery and its really necessary .
Without lawful justification :- The force which is used by the accused must be unlawful . the accused must not present any legal justification to justify his action .the accused must have intention to hurt or kill to another person .
Without consent :- The victim must not know about the action which is planned by the accused .the battery is only committed when the victim had no idea about the contact which was going to happen .

Legal defense on the charge of battery :

Self-Defense: It is the most common defense which is used in battery case . It means to protect yourself from unlawful force implied by other people . in this defense , it is proved that the defendant was safeguarding himself from the unlawful force of the complainent .but in this he did not provoke the other person and there was absolutely no other way to save himself .
Defense of others : This defense is similar to self -defense , as this defense the defendant is trying to save another individual , not himself .in this defense , there must be an honest and reasonable fear of harm to another person .
Defense of property : This defense is also very similar to self -defense , as in this defense the defendant is trying to protect his property , but the force used is only considrard when there is an unlawful use of force against the defendent. The defense is only valid when there is an honest and reasonable fear of harm to the person's property. So, in cases of disputes over personal property, the owner can force to take his property back.
Consent : It can also be considered as a defense in the case of battery. When the individual has given his consent to perform the act, then that same act can not be considered as a battery but in situation when the person exceeds the extent of the act, on those grounds the act can be considered as a battery.

Remedies :

Legal Remedies : Legal remedies are also known as damages, which is compensation given by the defendant to the plaintiff to compensate for the injuries, pain, or the suffering given by the defendant. The compensation is directly proprotional to the victim's loss not to that of the defendant's profits.
Restitutionary Remedies : These remedies try to restore the position of the plaintiff as close as possible to the state before all of it happened. This remedy includes:

3. Equitable Remedies : These are the remedies used when the monetary damages can not restore the initial stage of the victim. These remedies include:

Case : Leigh v/s Gladstone

3. MAYHEM
- It deals with disfigurment or laws of any part to physical injury caused by tortfeasor. The disabling of an arm, hand, finger, leg, foot or eye are eg. of Mayhem.
Case : Fetter v/s Beale
- The plaintiff had recovered damages from the defendant for the action of battery. Shortly thereafter, part of his skull came out of his head due to the said battery, & the plaintiff brought a subsequent action under mayhem. Through this case, the scope of mayhem was also expanded to the loss of the skull.
EMOTIONAL DISTRESS UNDER TORT :
- Tort law protect people from harm which result from wrongful conduct of other. under the traditional common law damages for mental harm were only recoverable as a part of torts like assault, battery or false imprisonment. Plaintiff could include emotional distress as an additional harm as they also suffer physical injury or the threat of physical injury. Eventually the court recognise the infliction of phychological injury as its own independent cause of action even without any accompaning to a person or a property.
Types of Emotional Distress

1. Intentional Infliction of emotional distress : Certain kinds of behaviour under specific condition can be duply offensive offensive and psychologically damaging to other people, even if there is no threat of physical harm.
- Ingredients :
1. The defendant must act intentionally or recklessly.
2. The defendant's conduct must be extreme and outrageous.
3. The conduct must be the cause of server emotional distress.
Case : Wilkinson v/s Downtown
Case : George v/s Jordan Marsh Co. (1971)

2. Negligent Infliction of emotional distress : In addition to the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, most jurisdiction allows recovery for emotional harm under a theory of negligence, This means that even when there is no intention to harm, one who has suffered severe mental harm can seek to recover damages caused by someone else's negligent conduct. As a negligence - based cause of action, the courts will seek to determine whether the defendant breached a duty of care to the plaintiff causing emotional distress.

Written By : KR Choudhary