This document discusses the differences between tort, crime, and breach of contract. It defines tort as the infringement of private or civil rights belonging to individuals, resulting in less serious wrongs. Crime is defined as the violation of public rights and duties that affect the community. Key differences include: torts deal with private wrongs while crimes are public wrongs; tort suits can be filed by injured parties while crime prosecutions are brought by the state; torts remedy is compensation while crimes remedy is punishment. Breach of contract results from duties parties undertake themselves, while tort duties are imposed by law.

1. Law of Tort
Session -2
Lecture by :

2. Topics To be Covered:
Differentiate Tort from following :
• Crime
• Breach of Contract
• Quasi Contract

3. Case Laws :
• Winter bottom v. Wright (1842) 10 M & W.
109.
• Klaus Mittlenachert v. East India Hotels
Ltd. A.I.R. 1997 Delhi 201 (single judge)
• Parsley v. Freeman (1789) 3 T.R. 51.
• Winsmore v. Green bank (1745) willes 577

4. Tort & Crime Distinguish:
1. Distinguish between Tort &
Crime
According to Blackstone: “wrongs
are divisible in two sort of species,
Private wrongs & Public wrongs.”

5. Torts : are infringement of Private or civil right
belonging to the Individual.
• The wrongs which are comparatively less
serious.
• Private wrong
• Civil wrongs
• Crime : Crime is violation of / breach of
Public rights and duties which affects whole
community or public at large.
• Some wrongs find place in civil & criminal law
are Assault, Defamation, Negligence,
Nuisance.

6. 2. Applicability of rules
• Applicability of rules also differs in both of
the cases
• In case of Defamation to individual
Tortious liability for the wrong of
defamation, truth is in itself a Defence.
• Where as in an action for offence of
defamation, the defence of truth can only
be taken if publication was made for public
good.

7. • Case e.g.
Nuisance-tort vs. Public Nuisance
If person causes obstruction in front of a
building, it causes problems to the
residents of that building it can be fall
under tort, if same obstruction is causes in
middle of road it causes problems to public
at large offence amount to public
nuisance comes under IPC-sec268.

8. 3. Who can file a Suit ?
Tort-Private Wrong
• The Injured party himself have to file a suit
as a plaintiff.
• Against Tortfeasor.
• At any stage if injured party likes, he may get
agree to compromise and can withdraw the
suit filed by him.

9. Crime-Public wrong :
• Criminal wrong considers to be a public
wrong, wrong against public at large.
• The criminal proceedings against wrong
doers therefore, not to be brought by party
but by the state.
• And therefore, compounding of an offence
(compromise between parties) is
considered to be unlawful.

10. 4. Award in Tort & Crime:
Tort:
• In tort end of justice are met by awarding
compensation to the injured party.
• Idea behind compensation in civil law is to
make good the loss suffered by injured party.
Crime
• In case of crime wrongdoers are punished.
• The punishment under criminal law protects
the society by preventing the offender from
committing further offences.

11. • Payment of Compensation to the injured party is a
civil remedy to be provided by Civil courts.
• In certain exceptional cases, as provided by Sec
357, Cr.P.c. 1973, even a criminal court while
passing judgment may order that the injured party
may be paid compensation out of the fine
imposed.
• If fine is not equivalent to compensate losses and
civil suit is filed in respect of same matter to claim
compensation, the civil court shall take in to
consideration if any sum paid or recovered by
party as compensation under Sec
357,Cr.P.C.1973.

12. 5. Imprisonment/ Detention
• In Civil Law, the idea behind detention is to
put pressure upon the defendant to perform
certain duty, and the defendant is released
when the duty has been performed.
• In Criminal law the imprisonment is made by
way of penalty for a wrongful act having been
already done.
• E.g. Judgment-debtor may be arrested in
execution of decree, who may released even
before expiration of fixed term, if the decree
is satisfied.(Sec- 57 Cr.P.C.)

13. • If same set of facts may be constitute both a Tort
& a Crime.
• The civil & Criminal remedies in such a case are not
alternative but they are concurrent (co-existing).
• The wrongdoer may be required to pay compensation
under civil law , he may also held liable under criminal
Law.
• E.g. if A digs a ditch on a public road resulting in
inconvenience to the public at large, a has committed a
public nuisance as defined under IPC Sec-268,if X
passer-by falls in to the ditch and there by get injured,
A ’s act also become Tort, A will be punishable under
both of the law discuss above.

14. Tort & Breach of Contract
1. Distinguish between Tort & Breach of
Contract.
• Breach of Contract results from the
breach of duty undertaken by parties
themselves by an agreement.
e.g. if A undertakes to supply a Radio-set &
fails.
• Tort : Tort results from the breach of
duties which are imposed by Law.
e.g. if A Commits nuisance or trespass.

15. 2. Duties of Parties:
• In a contract, the duty is based on the privity
of contract, and each party owes duty
towards only other contracting party.
• So, the rule is there the stranger to the
contract cannot sue.
• In case of tort duties imposed are not
towards any specific individual but at the
world at large.
• In case of Tort also only the person who have
suffered damages is entitled to sue.
e.g. A’s duty mot to defame is at world at large
so whomsoever is defamed entitled to bring
an action.

16. 3. Damages:
• In case of Tort damages are always
unliquidated in nature. as the amount
payable is not predetermined rather it
depends upon court’s discretion.
• In case of Contract damages are always
liquidated in nature. Amount payable is
predetermined.

17. • E.g. if, for example, due to negligence of
driver, a railway passenger is injured, the
railway authorities are liable for the breach of
contract of safe carriage, there is also tort of
negligence of a driver which results in
damages to the passenger.
• E.g. A delivers his horse to B for a safe
custody for a week and B allows the horse to
die of starvation, here B’s act amounts to two
wrongs.
• 1) breach of contract of Bailment.
• 2) Commission of tort of Negligence.
Rule: He can not claim damages twice