Torts Against Person: (Assault, Battery, Defamation, False Imprisonment & Malicious Prosecution)
Torts Against Person: (Assault, Battery, Defamation, False Imprisonment & Malicious Prosecution)
PERSON
[ ASSAULT , BATTERY , DEFAMATION , FALSE IMPRISONMENT &
MALICIOUS PROSECUTION ]
BHAVYA SINHA
A8111120108
BA.LL.B ( HONS )
SSEMESTER 1
BATCH 2020-25
ASSAULT
Held –
The Court stipulated that words alone can constitute an assault, without the presence of
physical action, if they cause the victim to apprehend a fear of immediate violence.
Concerning the temporal aspect of the fear of violence, the Court held that, for the purposes
of proving an assault, it is sufficient to demonstrate that the victim feared violence “at some
time not excluding the immediate future.” The Court held that this element was fulfilled,
placing emphasis upon the close proximity of the man’s house to the victim’s and his
delivery of the most recent letters to her house. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal
and upheld the conviction for assault occasioning bodily harm caused solely by words.
BATTERY
The wrong of battery consists in intentional application of force to another
person without any lawful justification.
There are two types of battery –
1) Use Of Force : Even though the force used is very trivial and does not cause any harm ,
the wrong is still constituted. Least touching of another in anger is battery. The force
maybe used even without bodily contact with the aggressor like use of stick , bullet ,
making a person fall by pulling his chair away etc.
2) Without Lawful Justification : It is essential that the use of force should be intentional
and without any lawful justification. Harm voluntarily suffered and harm which is
unintentional and pure accident is no harm.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASSAULT & BATTERY
COMPARISON
1) Criminal Defamation: Criminal defamation is the act of offending or defaming a person by committing a crime or
offence. For criminal defamations, you could always get the liable person or party prosecuted. It is studied in IPC as
a criminal act.
2) Civil Defamation: Civil defamation involves no criminal offence, but on account of this kind of defamation, you
could sue the person to get a legal compensation for your defamation. It is studied under law of torts i.e. as a civil
wrong.
English Law:
1) Libel : Libel is a representation made in a permanent form like writing, movie, picture etc. For e.g., X printed some
advertisement saying Y is bankrupt but Y was not thus it was representation in a specific form.
2) Slander : Slander, on the other hand is the publication of a defamatory statement in transient form like spoken words
or gestures. For e.g., A questions the chastity of B in an interview, A is slanderous.
ESSENTIALS OF DEFAMATION
1. The statement must be defamatory – The very first essential of the offense of
defamation is that the statement must be defamatory i.e. which tends to lower the reputation
of the plaintiff. The test to check if a particular statement is defamatory or not will depend
upon how the right thinking members of society are likely to take it. Further, a person cannot
take a defense that the statement was not intended to be defamatory, although it caused a
feeling of hatred, contempt or dislike.
2. The statement must refer to the plaintiff – In an action for defamation, the plaintiff has
to prove that the statement of which he Complains referred to him, it will be immaterial that
the defendant did not intend to defame the plaintiff. If the person to whom the statement was
published could reasonably infer that the statement referred to him, the defendant will then be
liable.
CONT’D
3. Knowledge of the plaintiff - The detention of another person would have been wrong.
There is no requirement that the plaintiff claiming another person for false imprisonment was
aware of his restraint on his freedom at the time of his confinement.
MALICIOUS PROSECUTION
5. Plaintiff suffered damage as a result of the prosecution - In a suit for damages for
malicious prosecution, it is another essential element which the plaintiff is required to
prove that The plaintiff suffered damage as a result of the prosecution. In a claim for
prosecution, the plaintiff can thus claim damages on the following three counts –
• Damage to the plaintiff’s reputation,
• Damage to the plaintiff’s person,
• Damage to the plaintiff’s property.