Act of God

• Anything beyond human control & foreseeability.

• Type of inevitable accident- factors affecting accident are natural causes.
• It has been explained in Halsbury’s Law of England as under:
"An act of God, in the legal sense of the term, may be defined as an extra ordinary
occurrence or circumstance which could not have been foreseen and which could
not have been guarded against; or more accurately, as an accident due to natural
causes, directly and exclusively without human intervention, and which could not
have been avoided by any amount of foresight and pains and care reasonably to be
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expected of the person sought to be made liable for it, or who seeks to excuse
himself on the ground of it. The occurrence need not be unique, nor need it be one
that happens for the first time; it is enough that it is extra ordinary, and such as
could not reasonably be anticipated. The mere fact that a phenomenon has
happened once, when it does not carry with it or import any probability of a
recurrence (when, in other words, it does not imply any law from which its
recurrence can be inferred) does not prevent that phenomenon from being an act
of God. It must, however, be something overwhelming and not merely an ordinary
accidental circumstance and it must not arise from the act of man".
 Essentials
• There must be working of Natural Forces.
• The occurrence must be extraordinary & not
one which could be anticipated & reasonably
guarded against.
• Circumstances where one can not avoid tort
liability for acts of God simply because they
should have planed for the natural disaster as a
foreseeable possibility.
 Case Laws
• Nichols v. Marsland
• Kallulal v. Hemchand
• Ramalinga Nadar v. Narayan Reddiar.
• State of PunjabLoading…
v. Modern Cultivators,
LADWA
 Difference between
Act of God & Inevitable Accident
 Private Defense
• Right to protect his property & his person- from attack-use of
reasonable amount of force.
• Law- right to respond- when attacked- force proportionate.
• Private defense not justified- as an anticipatory attack or when
attack is over.
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• Law- allows- protection of property within reasonable limits,
surrounding property.
• Three Conditions:
1. Real & imminent threat to plaintiff.
2. Force used for purpose of protection/ defense & not for
revenge.
3. Forced used should be in proportion to act committed &
enough to ward off eminent danger.
 Case Laws
➢ Bird v. Holbrook
➢ Ramanuja Mudali v. M. Gangan
➢ Collins v. Renison
 Mistake
• Two types- mistake of law & mistake of fact.
• mistake of law- no defense- presumed-all people know- law of
land except minors/ lunatics/insane.
• In gen.- Mistake, whether of fact/of law- no defense in tort.
• When any person willful interferes with rights of others, he has
no defense that he believed that his actions were justified.
• mistake of fact- used as defense- mens rea(essential)- must be
honest/ reasonable/ bonafide in nature.
• Case Laws
➢ The State of Maharashtra v. Mayer Hans George.
➢ Consolidated Co. v. Curtis & Sons
 Necessity
• Closely related to Pvt. Defense.
• Gives State/ individual a privilege to take or
use the property of another.
• Defendant invokes this defense against
intentional torts of trespass to chattels, trespass
to land or conversion.
• Based on principle- necessity knows no law.
• Based on maxim “solus populi suprema lex”
means the welfare of the people is Supreme
Law.
 Necessity Continues…….
Case Laws
➢ Leigh v. Gladstone
➢ Kirk v. Gregory
• To avail- def- prove- harm caused- to create
greater good or to prevent bigger harm.
• Degree of harm prevented & good generated-
higher than harm caused.
Difference between Necessity &
other Defences
 Statutory Authority
• Authority derived from a statute or legislation.
• When legislation passed & empowering a
person to commit a certain act, that auth.
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granted by statute- defense against liability for
torts.
• In normal circumstances-action resulted in tort
but if Statutory auth.- def. not liable.
Case Laws
➢ Hammer Smith Rail Co. v. Brand
• Defence- not available- if negligence- by