Torts Law – An Unexplored Field In India
- Shashvat Prakash
- June 23, 2020
Content :
As is the case with much of our statutory laws, the law of torts or civil wrongs in India is also entirely borrowed from the English counterpart which focuses on principles like justice, equity and fair conscience. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a tort as a “private or civil wrong or injury, including an action for bad faith breach of contract, for which the court will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages”. In countries like the U.K., the United States of America and others, the jurisprudence of tort law has developed over the course of a long time, with the help of case laws or judicial precedents. However, when it comes to the Indian courts, a host of socio-economic, as well as administrative factors have to be kept in mind while applying any rule to the Indian sphere, that owes its origin to the English law. In this paper, the author has focused on the historical evolution and emergence of Tort law in the Indian context, given the steady rise in the toll of such cases. There has been a tendency to increasingly view this law as a way to safeguard the people. Therefore, this paper will also study the growth of this law in India, while also covering two important aspects of this branch of law. First, the paper would delve into the question of whether Tort Law is overlooked and underestimated in India? Second, this paper would also study whether there is a need for codification of this law in India? The conclusion would try to answer the question raised in the title of the paper, and do so by suggesting reforms and international comparative analysis of the law in the rest of the world.
