Central University of South Bihar

School of Law and Governance

Law of Torts

Project Topic : - The difference in the concept of negligence

Under law of crime and torts
Name: - Kumar Pritam
B.A. LL.B (1st Semester)
Enrollment No. : - CUSB1813125048

Faculty name : - Dr. Deo Narayan Singh signature :

 Table of Contents
Pg no.

Research methodology ------------------------------------------1

Acknowledgment--------------------------------------------------2

Certificate-----------------------------------------------------------3

Declaration ---------------------------------------------------------4

Introduction--------------------------------------------------------5

Chapterisation
i.)Nature and definition of negligence-------------------------6

ii.)History of negligence under tort-----------------------------7

iii.)Negligence under tort-------------------------------------------8-9

iv.)Negligence under crime----------------------------------------10

v.) The difference in the concept of negligence

under law of crime and torts-----------------------------------12-15

vi.)Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------16

Bibliography------------------------------------------------------17
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology: The project is basically based on the doctrinal method of research as no

field work is done on this topic.

Aims & Objectives: To do an in depth analysis of the differences between constitutional law and

Sources of Data: The whole project is made with the use of secondary source. The following

secondary sources of data have been used in the project:

1. Books

2. Websites

Mode of Citation: The researcher has followed a uniform mode of citation throughout the course of

this research paper.

Type of Study: For this topic, the researcher has opted for Descriptive and Explanatory type of

study as in this topic, the researcher is providing the descriptions of the existing facts.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is a genuine pleasure to express my deep sense of thanks and gratitude to my mentor

and guide Dr.digvijay singh. His dedication and keen interest above all his

overwhelming attitude to help his students had been solely and mainly responsible for

completing my work. His timely advice, meticulous scrutiny, scholarly advice and

logical approach have helped me to a very great extent to accomplish this task.

I owe a deep sense of gratitude to prof. Sanjay prakash srivastsva , the dean of school of law and

governance (CUSB) for making sure that we are provided with best facilities and surroundings

to fetch the best out of ourselves. Her prompt inspirations, timely suggestions with

kindness, enthusiasm and dynamism have enabled me to complete my project .

It is my privilege to thank my parent their constant encouragement throughout my research

period.

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Kumar Pritam has completed his project in the subject of

Law of Torts on the topic of the difference in the concept of negligence under tort and crime

and has completed his project as prescribed under the Project guidelines.

Teacher’s signature --------------------

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work on ‘Negligence under tort and crime’ submitted to

Central University of south bihar ,gaya is an original work done by me under the guidance

of Mr.Deo narayan singh.

_____________

Student’s signature

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 INTRODUCTION

Terms:- A duty is simply a legal obligation . in order to be sued for negligence the
Defendant must have owed a duty to the plantiff .

Breach:- A breach is violation of legal obligation or duty . the defendant must breach his
Duty in order to liable for negligence .

Cause:- The breach of duty must cause harm to the plantiff.

Harm:- The plantiff should must suffer harm in order to sue for negligence .

Where the laws of intentional torts allow a plantiff to sue for harm the defendant caused on

Purpose the laws of negligence allow a plantiff to sue for harm the defendant caused either

By accident or through neckless behaviour . with keeping in mind please keep negligence in

The back of your mind when you are analyzing a scanerio involving intentional totrs because

You find that a plantiff will be able to recover in negligence ever if he cannot recover for an

Intentional tort . for example :-

Bruce Wayne is head librarian at the Gotham City Library. Bruce hires Peter Parker, a private
security guard, to monitor the library at night. Peter’s job is to walk through the library at
closing time to make sure no patrons are still in the building and then lock the doors for the
night. One night, Peter locks up like he is supposed to but he forgets to walk through the
building first. Unfortunately, Clark Kent, an avid reader, is in the library and does not realize
that the library has closed. Because Peter forgot to walk through the building, he does not
realize that Clark is still inside and Clark gets locked inside the library for the night. If Clark
sues Peter for False Imprisonment, Clark will lose because Peter did not intentionally lock
Clark in the library. However, even though Clark will not recover for an intentional tort, he
can still sue and possibly recover against Peter for negligently locking him in the library.

------------------------------------------------------------
https://lawshelf.com/courseware/entry/introduction-to-negligence

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 CHAPTER – 1

Nature and Definition of Law

Negligence :- The jurisprudential concept of negligence defies any precise definition famous

Jurist and leading judgement it is said have assigned various meaning to negligence . the apex

Court in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab observed :

Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by the omission to do something

Which a reasonable man guided by those consideration which ordinarily regulate the conduct

Of human affairs would do or doing something which a prudent reasonable man would not

Do , actionable negligence consists in the neglect of the use of ordinay care and skills by which

Neglect the plantiff has suffered injury to his person or property .

Negligence to create a liability on the part of parties in fault must be a failure

To observe the degree of care and prudence that is demanded in the discharge of the duty

Which the person charged with the negligence owed under the peculiar circumstances of the

Case to the injured party.

The definition of negligence consists of three things :-

1.) a legal duty to exercise due care on the part of the Party complained of towards the part
of the party complained of towards the party complaining the farmers conduct within
the scope of the duty
2.) breach of the said duty
3.) consequential damage
according to , charleswoth & pecrcy , negligence , in the current forensic speech , negligence has
three meanings. These are : - 1.) state of mind , in which it is opposed to intention
2.)careless conduct , and 3.) the breach of duty to take cae that is imposed by either common or
Statute law . all three meanings are applicable in different circumsatances but any one of them
Does not necessarily exclude the other meaning .

-----------------------------------------------------------------
1.see Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab and another , A.I.R.2005 S.C 3180
2.ibid, quoting ratanlal and dhirajlal , law of torts , 26th edition 2010 ,474
3.quoted in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab , A.I.R.2005 S.C 3180

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 CHAPTER-2

The histoy of negligence in the law of torts

Is negligence an independent tort , or is it merely one of the modes in which it is possible to

commit most torts ? current text-book give answers to this which are discordant , if not in flat
contradiction of another . A re-examiniation of the history of negligence was the only possible
solution , and if we return from it with no gusty backing of this view or that , and with no
gusty backing of this view or that and with no formidable quetry of any new gospel , we may
perhaps venture an independent opinion on some points. We must begin by stating the
meaning of negligence. At this point a rough description of it for historical purpose will
suffice. The current meaning of it is given towards the end of this essay for present purpose,
in one sense, it is the breach of a legal duty to take care by an inadvertent act or omission
which injures another person its other significant is merely a state of mind, inadvertence to
some legal duty . the first meaning takes in
( i ) inadvertence ( ii ) act or omission ( iii ) consequence : the second comprises inadvertence
only . in both senses , inadvertence implies either complete or partial failure opposed to
intention where the mind fully appreciated the duty.from this ambiguity of meaning ,
negligence in the law of torts has never been free since ideas about it as a technical term
began to clarify in the early nineteenth century .
Henceforth we use negligence in the first sense, except where the context shows the contrary.
We have discussed elsewhere anglo-saxon theories or lack of theories about liability. Passing
to the time of bracton it has been pointed out that there is very little trace then of liability, for
negligence . at any rate this is so in the royal courts. Had a man then no action against the
drunken carter , the reckless rider , the careless workman ? or are we to suppose that there
were no unfenced pits no unsafe scaffoldings , no loose.

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 CHAPTER-3

Negligence under tort

Definition :-
the tort of negligence is a legal wrong that is suffered by someone at the hands of another who
fails to take poper care to avoid what a reasonable person would regad as a foreseeable risk .

Negligence has two meaning in law of torts :-

1.) negligence as a mode of committing certain torts e.g- negligently or carelessly committing
trespass , nuisance or defamation . in this context ,it denotes the mental element .
2.) negligence is considered as a seprate tort . it means a conduct which creates a risk of
causing damages , rather than a state of mind .

Accoding to glangill William – this is bring an act without foreseen the consequences these which
A man of ordinary prudence don’t have done under these circumstances.

donoghue v. Stevenson – negligence as a duty to take care is specific cause in himself & not
simplyan element in some more complex relationship or in specialised beach of duty .

union of india v. Hindustan uniliver limited – negligence is a beach of duty to take care resulting
damage of ones property .

blyth v birmingham waterworks – negligence is breach of duty caused byn obligation to do

something which a reasonable man guidance upon those consideration which ordinarily conduct
the human affair to do or doing something which a prudent man couldn’t do .

Some cases on negligence under tort :-

Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, HL

like, sold by him to a distributor in circumstances which prevent the distributor or the
ultimate By Scots and English law alike the manufacturer of an article of food, medicine or
the purchaser or consumer from discovering by inspection any defect, is under a legal duty to
the ultimate purchaser or consumer to take reasonable care that the article is free from defect
likely to cause injury to health:-
So held, by Lord Atkin, Lord Thankerton and Lord Macmillan; Lord Buckmaster and Lord
Tomlin dissenting.

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Smoldon v Whitworth & Nolan [1997] PIQR P133, CA

The plaintiff, who was aged 17 at the time, suffered very serious personal injuries when
playing hooker in a colts rugby match, when a serum collapsed, and his neck was broken. He
claimed damages against the first defendant, a member of the opposing team, and against the
second defendant, the referee. The claim against the first defendant was dismissed, and there
was no appeal against that decision.
The plaintiff argued that the second defendant owed him a duty of care to enforce the Laws
of the Game, to apply them fairly, to effect control of the match so as to ensure that the
players were not exposed to unnecessary risk of injury and to have particular regard to the
fact that some of the players (including the plaintiff) were under the age of eighteen at the
date of the match. The second defendant accepted that he owed the plaintiff a duty of care,
but argued that the first defendant's duty to the plaintiff was only to refrain from causing him
injury deliberately or with reckless disregard for his safety, that this standard of care itself
qualified or informed his own standard of care, and that he could only be liable where he had
shown deliberate or reckless disregard for the plaintiff's safety. The judge adopted the
plaintiff's definition of the second defendant's duty. He found that the second defendant had
not enforced safety requirements set out in the Laws of the Game which contained special
provisions relating to players aged under nineteen, and requiring front rows to engage in a
crouch-touch-pause-engage sequence. He also found that there had been roughly three or four
times the number of collapsed scrums that would not be abnormal in such a game, at the
conclusion of the last of which, close to the end of the match, the plaintiff sustained his
injuries. He found that as as a consequence of the second defendant's failure to instruct the
front rows sufficiently and require the crouch-touch-pause-engage sequence the relevant
scrum collapse and the consequential injuries to the plaintiff occurred, in breach of the
second defendant's duty of care to him. The second defendant appealed.

Held, dismissing the appeal, that the judge had adopted the correct formulation of the second
defendant's duty. It was not necessary to show a high level of probability that if the scrum
collapsed serious injury of the kind which occurred was a highly probable consequence;
serious spinal injury was a foreseeable consequence of a collapse of the scrum and of failure
to prevent collapse of the scrum, and that was sufficient. The plaintiff was not volens to the
risk of injury; he had consented to the ordinary incidents of a game of rugby, not to a breach
of duty by the official whose duty it was to apply the rules and ensure, so far as possible, that
they were observed.

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 CHAPTER-4

Negligence Under crime

Definition:-

negligence is a statutory offense that arises primarily in situations involving the death of an innoce
nt party as a resultof the operation of a motor vehicle by a person who is under the influence of Dr
ugs and
Narcotics or alcohol. Most statutesdefine such conduct as criminally negligent Homicide. Unlike
the TORT of Negligence, in which the party who actedwrongfully is liable for damages to the injur
ed party, a person who is convicted of criminal negligence is subject to a fine,imprisonment, or bot
h, because of the status of the conduct as a crime.

negligence is a far more serious form of negligence that usually involves the death of another
individual. The defendant has failed to perceive the serious nature of his or her actions and
instead precipitated a gross violation of the standard of care expected on an individual.

The two most common forms of criminal negligence are criminally negligent homicide and
negligent endangerment of a child. Criminally negligent homicide is willful and wanton
conduct that causes the death of another. The neglect of a child is the failure to provide for
the needs of the child and dereliction of one’s duties as a parent or caretaker. The implication
in a child neglect case is that the parents lacked the mental, physical and emotional capacity
to care for the child, rather than the willful abuse of the child.

Some cases of negligence under crime :-

1.) john oni v. The king a duly qualified medical practicioner gave to his patient the injection
of sobita which consisted of sodium bismutch tartrate as given in the british pharmacopoeia.
However, what was administered was an overdose of sobita , as a result , the patient died. In the
Action against the doctor , accused of manslaughter , reckless and negligent act , their lordship of
theprivicy council held :
1.)That a doctor is not criminally responsible for a patients death unless his negligence or
incompetence went beyond a mere matter of compensation between subjects and showed such
disgregard for life and safety of others as to amount to a crime against the state ;
2.)that the degree of negligence equired is that it should be gross , and that neither a jury nor a
court can can transfom negligence of a lesser in to gross negligence merely by giving it that
appellation.
There is a difference in kind between the negligence which gives a right to compensation and the
negligence which is a crime .
3.)it is impossible to define culpable or criminal negligence and it is not possible to make the
distinction between actionable negligence and criminal negligence intelligible , except by means
Of illustrations drawn from actual judicial opinion.

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The most favourable view of the conduct of an accused medical man has to be taken , for it would
be most fatal to the efficiency of the medical profession if no one could administer medicine
without a halter round his neck.

2.)Julie andews throat operation :-

Few would argue that the voice of Julie Andrews was among the most revered of the century. In
1997, she had developed nodules on her vocal chords which were causing minor problems. She
was told surgery and a six week rest would correct things, but the operation permanently damaged
her voice, leaving her unable to continue singing. Her malpractice suit was settled in a New York
court.

3.)jesica santilian heart and lungs tansplant :-

In 2003, 17 year old Jesica Santilian came to the United States from Mexico to receive treatment
for a severe heart condition, and it must have been a great relief to hear that she would receive the
heart and lung transplant she needed. When doctors transplanted the organs, Jesica experienced
severe brain damage, and her body was shutting down. At that point, medical staff realized that
that the donor of the new organs did not have the same blood type as Jesica. While the physician
attempted to rectify the error by finding compatible organs, and performing a second surgery, the
damage had been done. Jessica did not survive the operation. The doctor took responsibility for
the error, and the hospital implemented a new system to double check transplants in order to
prevent similar errors from occurring.

Medical malpractice is not always as dramatic as it was in these instances, but the mistakes of
medical professionals can result in a range of problems from inconvenience, to a more difficult
recovery, to death. Hospitals and medical professionals often do not admit that they made a
mistake, and attempt to cover their tracks leaving the patient and/or their family with little more
than a gut feeling regarding the mishap. While there is no guarantee that such a feeling will lead to
a successful lawsuit, it is still important for those in Kentucky to investigate and confirm the
possibility as soon as possible. Most malpractice related lawsuits in the state fall under a one year
statute of limitations, so it is important to act right away.as not to miss an opportunity.

A Johns Hopkins Malpractice Study revealed that medical errors contribute to over 4,000 deaths
each year, but 97% of valid claims are never pursued. Filing a malpractice suit is about more than
money, it’s about accountability. By drawing attention to preventable mistakes, hospitals and
medical professionals are forced to take a second look at their approach to medical care and make
improvements that can help others. At Meinhart, Smith, and Manning in Louisville, we have
handled multiple medical malpractice lawsuits, and we’re ready to look at the specifics of your
case, and help you decide if filing a medical malpractice suit is the right move for you. Contact
our office today for a free consultation with our experienced attorneys.

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 CHAPTER-5

The Difference in the concept of negligence under law of crime & torts
Negligence is both civil as well as criminal wrong. The theoretical part of negligence is followed
by what people actually face in the real-life scenario.

Criminal Negligence :-

1. When a person is driving a car and texting at the same time, and in the meanwhile
breaks someone else’s car, he is criminally negligent because the criminal laws of
the land, do not allow texting and driving.
2. Similarly, in a case where a person is drinking and driving, and kills someone on
the road, he can be held criminally negligent. The reason is that killing is a crime
and similarly drink and driving is also a crime, therefore he can be sued and held
criminally liable.
3. When a nurse in a nursing home forgets to feed the patient and the patient dies
because of the negligent act of the nurse that is when the nurse can be held
criminally liable because it is because of her criminal negligence that the patient is
put forward for a risk to life.
4. A caregiver in a hospital who is not paying attention and who provides someone
with a deadly dose of medication could be considered criminally negligent.
5. A person who is supposed to be a caretaker of the nursery and fails to take care, in
lieu to which someone takes away child of another, can be held criminally
negligent.

Procedures and best practices involoved in filing of criminal cases :-

1. File an FIR – Make sure that you file an FIR with the police at the police station
after the happening of the criminal event with you.
2. Vakalatnama – Once you have filed an FIR, know that the Vakalatnama has to be
filed because the lawyer or the advocate will need to represent you on your behalf.
3. Investigation– the process of investigation starts after the cognizance of the case
to the court and sometimes even before that if the nature of the offence is serious in
nature.
4. Laying of charges – If the crime is heinous then the police will frame the charges
in the police diary and then report the same to the court. The court will then decide
whether to prosecute based on the witnesses and the statements provided in the
court.

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 5.)Enquiry – Inquiry will be conducted by the court to determine the guilt of the
offender and if no such guilt is found, then the statements will be recorded under
the Section 164 of the CRPC, where the accused will be required to say whether he
feels he is guilty or not and he can admit the guilt.

6.)Trial- The process of trial starts when the investigation is over and the court now
needs to decide upon the facts and the evidences upon whether the accused is guilty
of the offence or not.

7.)Arguments– both the lawyers put forth their arguments for the determination of
the guilt of the accused.

8.)Judgement– The judgment is given on the basis of the arguments put forth and
taking into consideration the result of all the steps involved in a criminal case.

Negligence under tort :-

1.If a person who owns a dog, leaves a dog open in the playground and the dog
attacks the cat of another and injures her, the person can be held negligent.

2.An office where mopping is in process and does not put a sign of wet floor, can
be held negligent.

3.A company which does not gets incorporated according to the SEBI guidelines,
can be held negligent.

4.A doctor who operates on the wrong patient can be considered negligent.

5.A store which is very popular for the beers, and usually has a lot of traffic inside
the store, holds a sale in the mid-season without any security can be held negligent
in his acts.

6.A pharmaceutical company if launches a drug without testing it on the humans

can be held negligent.

7.A driver who runs a stop sign and goes beyond the prescribed speed limit can be
held negligent.

8.A person who owns a dog and leaves him open in the courtyard of another, and
the dog destroys the garden of another. The person can be held negligent.

practices and Procedures for filing a Civil Suit on negligence:-

1.Written statement means that the statement by the judge that is given for the
hearing on the next date. Also, within that period of time the defendant is required
to record his written statements proving himself to be free of whatever charge the
plaintiff has put against him.

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2.Replication by plaintiff

Replication by the plaintiff means, that the person who has put the charges against
you of any civil nature, he will reply to the recorded written statement of the
defendant substantiating himself in the court of law of the various practices and
actions that prove himself to be the right and the defendant to be actually guilty of
the charge of the civil action against him.

3.Filing of other documents

Filing of other documents mean that the other documents required to substantiate
the arguments by each of the parties involved. Both the parties collect and give the
collected documents for substantiating their arguments and prove that they are
rightful in the court of law.

4.Framing of issues

Framing of Issues means that once the documents have been put forth across the
table, the judge will now consider the issues and the parties will have to fight their
case upon the issues so framed according to the substantiated documents and
evidences.

5.List of witnesses

List of witnesses means that the documents that substantiated by the parties, need
also to be accomplished by a witness who will prove in the court that he saw or
witnessed the event happening for which the case has been filed.

6.Final Hearing

Once the witnesses, documents and issues are looked into, the judge decides as to in
whose favour the judgement should be and acts as an empire in the adversary
system of the Indian Courts. The judgement is either given in the form of paying
damages, compensation, injunction or remuneration for the losses suffered.

7.Filing of a suit or a plaint

This means that you actually take down time and everything involved in the civil
action that happened against you, in the above context, negligence. Then you write
and give a written statement of the facts and whatever happened.

8.Vakalatnama

In vakalatnama what happens is that the person filing the suit authorises the
advocate on behalf of the person to file a suit and in civil cases, this is not really
necessary. This is done as the requirement of the time and the need is. The person
can himself go and file the case and fight the case as well, the requirement of the
vakalatnama, therefore is not a compulsion.

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9.Filing

In this step what happens is that you file your plaint which is a written statement
with the Chief Ministerial Officer or any other officer as the requirement may be
and pay the prescribed fee for filing and the procedural fee and get going with the
following steps. The fees may be different according to the officers you approach
to.

10.Hearing

In this stage of hearing what happens is that the judge will listen to what you want
to say and what the other party wants to say and then it will ask for substantial
documents supporting the case and then fix a date.

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 CONCLUSION

After all the researches i hereby coclude that , the negligence under crime and
negligence under tort both are totally different things. negligence is considered
as a seprate tort . it means a conduct which creates a risk of causing damages ,
rather than a state of mind. & The process of filing suit in both circumstances is
same.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES :-
https://heinonline.org

https://lawshelf.com/courseware/entry/introduction-to-negligence

https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/tort-law/tort-of-negligence.php

https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/negligence-duty-cases.php

BOOK:-
Law of torts by R.K BANGIA 24th edition

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