Unit IV — Specific Torts

“The least touching of another in anger is a battery.” — Cole v. Turner (1704)

Assault, Battery & Mayhem

These three protect the person from physical interference:

Assault — an act that makes the plaintiff reasonably fear the immediate application of force (raising a fist, pointing a weapon). No contact is needed; mere words generally do not amount to assault, but words plus a threatening gesture do.
Battery — the actual application of force to another, however slight, without lawful justification (the punch that follows the raised fist).
Mayhem — a battery that deprives a person of a limb or member useful in defence, an aggravated form.

Assault and battery are distinct torts: the threat and the touch are two separate wrongs.

False Imprisonment

False imprisonment is the total restraint of a person’s liberty, without lawful justification, for any time however short. Key points: the restraint must be complete — if there is a reasonable means of escape it is not imprisonment (Bird v. Jones, 1845 — being stopped from crossing a bridge by one route, with another way open, was not false imprisonment); the plaintiff need not have known he was imprisoned at the time (Meering v. Grahame-White Aviation); and the restraint may be by physical barrier or by an assertion of authority the plaintiff submits to.

Defamation

flowchart TD
    A["Defamation"]:::root
    A --> B["Libel<br/>written / permanent —<br/>actionable per se"]:::leaf
    A --> C["Slander<br/>spoken / transient —<br/>usually needs special damage"]:::leaf
    A --> D["Essentials:<br/>(1) defamatory statement<br/>(2) refers to plaintiff<br/>(3) published to a third person"]:::ess
    A --> E["Defences:<br/>truth/justification, fair comment,<br/>privilege (absolute & qualified)"]:::def

    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#333,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef ess fill:#FFF7E6,stroke:#8a6d1e,color:#000;
    classDef def fill:#E6FFE6,stroke:#1E8A3A,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Defamation is a statement that lowers the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, published to a third person. Libel (written/permanent) is actionable per se; slander (spoken/transient) usually requires proof of special damage (with exceptions — imputation of crime, unchastity, disease, or unfitness for office). An innuendo is a statement defamatory only by reason of facts the audience knows. Defences: justification (truth), fair comment on a matter of public interest, and privilege — absolute (parliamentary and judicial proceedings) and qualified (statements made in the discharge of a duty, without malice).

Malicious Prosecution & Property Torts

Malicious prosecution requires five ingredients, all of which must be proved: (1) the defendant prosecuted the plaintiff; (2) the prosecution ended in the plaintiff’s favour; (3) there was no reasonable and probable cause; (4) the defendant acted with malice; and (5) the plaintiff suffered damage. Property torts: trespass to land (unauthorised entry, actionable per se), trespass to goods, and conversion (dealing with another’s goods inconsistently with his ownership — e.g. selling them). Domestic-rights torts protect family and contractual relationships (loss of consortium; inducing breach of contract).

✏️ Sample Solved Problem (IRAC Method)

Problem: At a meeting, B (seated some places from the chairman A) turns unruly; a resolution to eject him is passed; B advances on A with clenched fists but is stopped by the warden before reaching him. Has B committed a tort?

I — Issue

Whether B’s advance on A with clenched fists, stopped before any contact, amounts to an actionable assault.

R — Rule

Assault is an act that causes the plaintiff a reasonable apprehension of imminent force; actual contact is not required (that would be battery).
Stephens v. Myers (1830) — on virtually identical facts (an advancing, fist-clenched man stopped before reaching the chairman) — held it an assault, because the defendant had the apparent present ability to carry out the threat and would have struck the chairman but for being intercepted.

A — Analysis

The decoy is that B never touched A, suggesting no tort occurred. But the tort of assault is complete the moment A reasonably fears imminent force; the want of contact only means there was no battery. B was advancing with clenched fists and the apparent present ability to strike A, and was stopped only by the warden’s intervention — precisely the Stephens v. Myers situation. A’s apprehension of immediate violence was entirely reasonable.

C — Conclusion

B has committed the tort of assault. Advancing on A with clenched fists and the apparent ability to strike, stopped only by a third party, is an assault even though no blow landed (Stephens v. Myers).

📄 The full bundle (₹199) has the complete Unit IV — assault/battery, false imprisonment, the full law of defamation, malicious prosecution and property torts with blueprints — plus the Question Bank’s model answers to the Bird v. Jones, “Rasputin” defamation, parliamentary-privilege and conversion problems. Get Notes + Question Bank — ₹199