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Sanskar Sarjan Education Society's

DHIRAJLAL TALAKCHAND SANKALCHAND SHAH COLLEGE OF LAW


KURAR, MALAD (EAST).MUMBAI - 400 097
ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-2024
L.L.B. SEM. I

NAME: SUMIT MANOJ VISHWAKARMA

ROLL NO: 113

SUBJECT: THE LAW OF TORTS

TOPIC: (ASSIGNMENT): JUDICIAL AND EXTRA JUDICIAL


REMEDIES

PROFESSOR IN-CHARGE: Adv. Priyanka Koshy

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is a great pleasure for me to undertake this project. My topic for the


Assignment is JUDICIAL AND EXTRA JUDICIAL REMEDIES and I am
happy that I have been given this opportunity to express my views on the
topic. I am especially thankful to our subject Adv. Priyanka Koshy for
allotting this topic to me.
I am grateful to our Adv. Priyanka Koshy for explaining the topic so well
during the lectures which helped me a lot in preparing for my assignment.
This project has increased my knowledge on this topic which is helping in
present and will also help me in future.
I also thank my DHIRAJLAL TALAKCHAND SANKALCHAND SHAH
COLLEGE OF LAW family for making me a part of this esteemed
University.

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SR.NO TOPIC OF CONTENT PAGE NO.
1. COVER PAGE 1
2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2
3. INDEX 3
4. TOPIC INTRODUCTION 4
5. JUDICAL REMEDY TYPES 5
6. EXTRA JUDICAL REMEDY TYPES 6
7 JUDICAL REMEDY EXPLANATION 7-10
8 EXTRA JUDICAL REMEDY EXPLANATION 11-12
9 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION 13
10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 14

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When the aggrieved person is taken back to the position that they were
enjoying before their rights were infringed, they are said to have been
provided with a legal remedy. There are various types of legal remedies.

For instance, if something that belongs to you has been taken away from you
by a party, the court can either ask them to pay you back in money, or ask
them to return your belongings as they were, and may also punish the party
in some cases.

Remedies in Tort Law are of 2 types

1. Judicial Remedies: These are the remedies that the courts of law
provide to an aggrieved party.
2. Extra-Judicial Remedies: If the injured party takes the law in their
own hand (albeit lawfully), the remedies are called extra-judicial
remedies.

Judicial remedies

Remedies are said to be judicial when they are granted by the Court in a suit
filed by the injured party against the wrong-doer. The Court then normally
awards damages to the injured party. This is the usual remedy. The other two
judicial remedies in the law of torts are the granting of an injunction and the
restitution of property.

Extra-judicial remedies

Extra-judicial remedies are those which an injured party adopts when he takes
the law into his own hands, as it were, and helps himself in the matter, as for
instance, the expulsion of a trespasser re-entry on the land, abatement of a
nuisance, etc.

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Judicial remedies in tort are of three main types

1. Damages: Damages or legal damages is the amount of money paid to


the aggrieved party to bring them back to the position in which they
were before the tort had occurred. They are paid to a plaintiff to help
them recover the loss they have suffered.

Damages are the primary remedy in a cause of action for torts. The
word “damages” should not be confused with the plural of the word
“damage” which means ‘harm’ or ‘injury’.

2. Injunction: Injunction is an equitable remedy available in torts,


granted at the discretion of the court. An equitable remedy is one in
which the court, instead of compensating the aggrieved party, asks the
other party to perform his part of the promises.

So, when a court asks a person to not continue to do something, or to


do something positive so as to recover the damage of the aggrieved
party, the court is granting an injunction.

3. Specific Restitution of Property: the third judicial remedy available


in the Law of Torts is that of Specific Restitution of Property.
Restitution means the restoration of goods back to the owner of the
goods. When a person is wrongfully dispossessed of his property or
goods, he is entitled to the restoration of his property.

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Extra-judicial Remedies in Tort

These are of five main types:

1. Expulsion of trespasser: A person can use a reasonable amount of


force to expel a trespasser from his property.
2. Re-entry on land: In this case, the owner of a property can removes
the trespasser and re-enter his property by using a reasonable amount
of force.
3. Re-caption of goods: In this case, the owner of goods is entitled to
recapture his/her goods from any person whose unlawful possession
they are in.
4. Abatement: In case of a nuisance, be it private or public, a person
(the injured party) can remove the object causing nuisance.
5. Distress Damage Feasant: Lastly, distress damage feasant. In this
case, a person’s cattle/other beasts move to another’s property and his
crops are spoiled. The owner of the property is entitled to take
possession of the beasts until he is compensated for the loss suffered
by him.
When the aggrieved person is taken back to the position that they were enjoying
before their rights were infringed or a tort was committed, they are said to have
been provided with a legal remedy. There are various types of legal remedies.
For instance, if something that belongs to you has been taken away from you by
a party, the court can either ask them to pay you back in money, or ask them to
return your belongings as they were, and may also punish the party in some
cases.

Remedies for Torts

1- Judicial Remedies: These are the remedies for torts that the courts of law
provide to an aggrieved party.

2- Extra judicial Remedies: If the injured party takes the law in their own hand
(albeit lawfully), the remedies for torts are called extra-judicial remedies.

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Judicial Remedies for Torts
As the term suggests, these are the remedies for torts that the courts of law
provide to an aggrieved party. Judicial remedies are of three main types:

1-Damages

2-Injunction

3-Specific Restitution of Property

Damages
Damages, or legal damages is the amount of money paid to the aggrieved party
to bring them back to the position in which they were, before the tort had
occurred. They are paid to a plaintiff to help them recover the loss they have
suffered. Damages are the primary remedy in a cause of action for torts. The
word “damages” should not be confused with the plural of the word “damage”,
that generally means ‘harm’ or ‘injury’.The fundamental principle applied to the
assessment of an award of damages is that the claimant should be fully
compensated for his loss. He is entitled to be restored to the position that he
would have been in, had the tort not been committed, insofar as this can be done
by the payment of money.

Types of Damages

1- Nominal Damages – Nominal damages are those in which even though the
plaintiff has suffered a legal injury at the hands of the defendant, there is no
actual suffered by him. These damages are provided in the cases of Injuria sine
damno in which the Court recognises the violation of the right of the plaintiff
but the amount of damages are so nominal or low because of no actual loss to
the plaintiff.

In the case of Constantine v. Imperial London Hotels Ltd[1]., The plaintiff


was a cricketer from West Indies who had gone to the defendant hotel to stay
but he was rejected on the basis of his nationality, therefore, the plaintiff stayed
at another hotel and did not suffer any actual damage. In the case brought by
him, the defendant was held liable because the plaintiff’s legal right was
violated despite no actual injury happening and they had to pay nominal
damages of five guineas.

In the case of Ashby v. White (1703) 92 ER 126[2], the plaintiff was prevented
from voting by the defendant and the candidate for whom the plaintiff was
going to vote still won. The plaintiff sued the defendant. It was held that even
though no actual damage was suffered by the plaintiff, the defendant was still

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liable for preventing him from exercising his legal right to vote and thus
nominal damages were awarded in this case.

2- Contempuous Damages– In these type of damages, the Court recognises


that the right of the plaintiff is violated but to show that the suit brought by the
plaintiff is of such a trivial nature that it has only wasted the time of the Court,
the Court awards a meagre amount to the plaintiff as damages. This is similar to
the nominal damages but the only difference between the two is that in nominal
damages the plaintiff suffers no actual loss and in contemptuous damages, the
plaintiff suffers actual damage but it is a trivial one in which he does not
deserves to be fully compensated.

Illustration: If A’s dog enters B’s house and relieves himself and B
accidentally steps on it and is disgusted and thus, he brings a suit against A, the
Court will rule in B’s favour but because of such a trivial nature of this case the
damages awarded by the Court will be of a meagre amount.

3. Compensatory Damages –Compensatory damages are awarded to help the


plaintiff to reach his original position at which he was before the tort was
committed against him. These damages are not awarded to punish the defendant
but to restore the plaintiff to his previous situation. These damages are very
helpful in cases of monetary losses in which the amount of loss can be easily
calculated and therefore that amount can be ordered to be paid to the plaintiff so
that he can replace the damaged product or goods with such amount.

Illustration: K takes T’s bike and due to his rash driving the bike gets
damaged. Here K can be awarded compensatory damages in which the amount
for repairing the bike will be payable to K by T so that the bike’s condition can
be restored back to its original state.

4. Aggravated Damages -These damages are awarded for the extra harm which
is caused to the plaintiff which cannot be compensated by the compensatory
damages and it is given for factors such as the loss of selfesteem, pain and
agony suffered by the plaintiff etc. which cannot be calculated in monetary
terms. These damages are therefore additional damages which are awarded to
the plaintiff other than the damages awarded for his pecuniary loss.

Illustration: A makes false claims against B as a result of which B’s standing in


the society is greatly affected and he is also ridiculed by people which leads to
him losing his self-confidence and self-esteem. Here Court can award B
aggravated damages for the humiliation and loss of confidence because of his
suffering which is caused by A’s act.

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5. Punitive Damages – These damages are also known as exemplary damages
and the purpose of these damages is to punish the defendant and to make an
example of him so that others are deterred from committing the same act as he
did. Thus, whenever a Court feels that the act of the defendant was severely
gross, it awards punitive damages against him to the plaintiff.

Illustration: A company advertises that its pill will help in quick weight loss
and is made up of natural ingredients, as a result, the plaintiff purchases it. But
due to the pills containing certain chemicals, it makes the plaintiff severely ill.
Here the Court can not only allow compensatory damages to the plaintiff but
because of the company’s false claims, it can also award punitive damages so
that it does not repeat the act again.

6- General and Specific Damages- When there is a direct link between the
defendant’s wrongful act and the loss suffered by the plaintiff. For instance, a
person A, due to his negligence, collides his car with a person B, who has a rare
bone condition. In this case, the actual damage suffered by the plaintiff will be
compensated, not taking into account the rare bone condition of the plaintiff.
General damages are ascertained by calculating the amount of actual loss
suffered by the plaintiff. For e.g, physical pain and loss caused due to it, or if
the quality of life of the plaintiff is lowered.

Special damages are awarded by proving special loss. There is no straitjacket


formula to derive the actual amount. The plaintiff just has to prove the loss
suffered by him/her. For e.g., medical expense, loss of wage (prospective),
repair or replacement of lost or damaged goods/property.

Remoteness of ‘Damage’

As discussed above, the main aim is to bring the aggrieved party back to the
status quo, that is, compensating the plaintiff. As a general rule, damage
suffered by the plaintiff should be a direct consequence of the defendant’s act.
Any action can have multiple following consequences. A person cannot be held
accountable for all the consequences resulting from his act. The remoteness of
consequences resulting from a person’s act has been an issue of debate in
the Law of Torts over the years. Various tests were developed over time to
determine what consequences of an act can a person be held liable for. When
there is no cause and effect relationship between the defendant’s act and the
injury caused to the plaintiff, the damage is said to be too remote to be
compensated.

Re Polemis Case (Re Polemis & Furness, Withy & Co Ltd)


In this case, Polemis, the plaintiff owned a cargo ship that they had chartered to
the defendants. While unloading cargo from the ship, the defendant’s
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employees accidentally knocked a plank into the ship, which caused a spark to
ignite, that resulted in an explosion. The question before the court was, whether
the damage due to the explosion was a direct result of the act of the defendant’s
employee.

Leisboch Case (Liesbosch Dredger v SS Edison)


In this case, the plaintiff’s dredger was damaged and sunk by the defendants
(Edison), due to their negligence. The dredger was working under a contract
with the terms that some amount had to be paid if the work was not completed
on time. The plaintiff did not have enough funds to arrange a new dredger to
complete the said work. They claimed all the resulting damages. The court held
that the plaintiff’s own lack of funds cannot be compensated by the defendants.

Injunction
Injunction is an equitable remedy available in torts, granted at the discretion of
the court. An equitable remedy is one in which the court, instead of
compensating the aggrieved party,asks the other party to perform his part of the
promises. So, when a court asks a person to not continue to do something, or to
do something positive so as to recover the damage of the aggrieved party, the
court is granting an injunction. A very simple example is that of a court
ordering a company of builders to build on a land near a hospital, for the
construction sounds may be creating a nuisance to the hospital.

An injunction is an order of a court that restrains a person from continuing the


commission of a wrongful act, or orders the person to commit a positive act to
reverse the results of the wrongful act committed by him, that is, to make good
what he has wrongly done. To receive injunction against a party one must prove
damage or the possibility of prospective damage (apprehended damage). An
injunction can be temporary or permanent, and mandatory or prohibitory. Let us
discuss each of them one by one. Law relating to injunctions is found in the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and from Section 37 to Section 42 of the
Specific Relief Act (henceforth referred to as the Act), 1963.

A suit of injunction can be filed against any individual, group or even the State.
According to the Section 37 of the Act there are two types of injunctions–
temporary and perpetual (permanent).

Specific restitution of property


The third judicial remedy available in the Law of Torts is that of Specific
Restitution of Property. Restitution means restoration of goods back to the
owner of the goods. When a person is wrongfully dispossessed of his property
or goods, he is entitled to the restoration of his property.

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Extra Judicial Remedies for Torts
When a person can lawfully avoid or remedy himself without the intervention of
courts, these remedies for torts are called extra-judicial remedies for torts. In
this, the parties take the law in their own hands. Extra Judicial Remedies for
torts refers to those remedies where an aggrieved person can take such actions
that can undo the damage that has happened to him, without the court’s
intervention. There are 5 types of extra judicial remedies for torts that are
available to people who have suffered from some civil wrong. These include
Expulsion of Trespasser, Right of Re-entry on Land, Right of Re-caption of
Goods, Abatement of Nuisance and Distress Damage Feasant.

Extra-judicial remedies are those which are open to an injured

party to adopt, when he takes the law into his own hands, so to say, and helps
himself in the matter, as for instance, expulsion of a trespasser, re-entry on land,
abatement of a nuisance, etc. Extra- judicial remedies are of five kinds:

1. Self-defence

It is lawful for a man to defend him person or property and to use reasonable
force towards another for this purpose

2. Expulsion and re-entry

A person who is entitled to the immediate possession of mmovable property


may expel the trespasser therefrom and re-enter t, provided that the force used
by him is reasonable and does not Eransgress the reasonable limits of the
occasion.

3. Re-caption

A person entitled to the immediate possession of chattels (that s, movables) may


recover them from any person who has them in is actual possession and detain
them, provided that such possession was wrongful in its inception.

Re-caption of chattels is an extra-judicial remedy. The plaintiff may help


himself by his own act and strength without recourse to any Court of justice or
the sanction of any judicial declaration of his rights. Specific restitution of
property, on the other hand, is a judicial remedy, nat is, a remedy by way of an
action at law.

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4- Abatement of nuisance

In cases of nuisance, private or public, under certain circum- ances and subject
to certain limitations, the injured party has the right remove the nuisance
Illustration: A and B are neighbours. Branches of a tree growing on A’s plot
enter B’s apartment from over the wall. After giving due notice to A, B can
himself cut or remove the branches if they’re causing him nuisance.

5- Distress Damage Feasant- Where

Where one man's beasts are on another man's grounds withou licence (that is,
without the owner's permission) and spoil his con grass, etc., the owner is
entitled to take possession of the beasts unti he is compensated for the injury he
has sustained. The distress must is done and while the on land.

the lass damage feasant is thus a remedy by which, if cattle or other things are
on a man's land, encumbering it or otherwise doing damage there, he may
summarily seize them without legal process and retain them for the redress of
the injury he has sustained.

Anything animate or inanimate, which is wrongfully on the land of another and


is doing damage, may be distrained for such damage. For instance, greyhounds
or ferrets chasing and killing rabbits may be distrained damage feasant. The
distrainor must, however, supply the distrained animals with sufficient food and
water. A locomative was once distrained where it was used on a railway line of
a company without a certificate of the company as required by a statute.

The right is founded on the principle of recompense, which justifies a person in


retaining that which occasions injury to his property till amends are made by the
owner. The right does not give a right of sale. It can be exercised only by a
person who has a sufficient possession of land to entitle him to maintain an
action for trespass. The distress must be taken at the time of damage is done; if
the damage was done yesterday, and the distress taken today, that would be
illegal.

It is doubtful whether the common law right of distress damage feasant can be
said to exist in India under the general law. However, there are express
enactments may allow such distress, as for example, the Cattle Trespass Act,
which provides for compounding of cattle trespassing and doing damage.

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Conclusion for Remedies for Torts

In torts, the object behind remedying a party is to take the aggrieved party back
to the status or position that they were enjoying before the occurrence of tort. It
is not to punish the defendant, as in crime. Remedies for torts can be judicial
and extrajudicial. When due process of law is required for a party to gain
remedy, and the courts are involved, the remedies are called judicial remedies.
When the law is taken in his/her own hands by the parties, they are called extra-
judicial remedies.

RECOMMENDATION

Hybrid Approaches:

It's worth noting that parties can also opt for hybrid approaches, combining both
judicial and extrajudicial elements. For example, they might use mediation to
attempt resolution initially, with the option to pursue a court decision if an
agreement cannot be reached.

Ultimately, the choice between judicial and extrajudicial remedies depends on


the specific circumstances and the goals of the parties involved in the dispute.
Legal advice from professionals experienced in dispute resolution can help
parties make informed decisions based on their unique situation.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://lawbhoomi.com/remedies-for-torts-judicial-and-extra-judicial-remedies/

BOOK OF THE LAW OF TORTS [JAMNADAS ]AUTHOR

https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-484-injunction-and-extra-
judicial-remedies-under-tort-law.html

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