NUISANCE UNDER TORT LAW

This article is written by  Suryavrat dubey, student of Delhi institute of rural development, Delhi. The author in this article has discussed the concept of nuisance and along with its defences and remedies available.

So what is nuisance and types of Nuisance ?

Now see the definition of Nuisance first,

According to Stephen, nuisance is anything done to the hurt or annoyance of the tenements of another, or of the lands, one which doesn’t amount to trespass.

According to Salmond, nuisance consists in causing or allowing to cause without lawful justification, the escape of any deleterious thing from one’s land or from anywhere into land in possession of the plaintiff, such as water, smoke, gas, heat, electricity, etc.

BUT, what is nuisance according to Me : Nuisance means , to hurt or to annoy

it means any act which hurts someone mentality by any act with intention. 

Suppose that A is in house and B in his house which is just beside A’s house. Now B is playing songs on DJ at too much high volume.  Now B is giving any physical damage to A but B is giving mentally damage to A.  

Essential elements of Nuisance

Wrongful act

Any act which is done with the intention to cause the infringement of the legal rights of another is considered to be a wrongful act.

Damage or loss or annoyance caused to another individual.

Damage or loss or annoyance must be such which the law should consider as a substantial material for the claim.

There is TWO TYPES of Nuisance

PUBLIC NUISANCE :  Section 268 of ipc which public nuisance

A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right. A common nuisance is not excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage.

PRIVATE NUISANCE : Private Nuisance is that kind of nuisance in which a person’s use or enjoyment of his property is ruined by another. It may also injuriously affect the owner of the property by physically injuring his property or by affecting the enjoyment of the property. Unlike public nuisance, in private nuisance, an individual’s usage or enjoyment of property is ruined as distinguished from the public or society at large. The remedy for private nuisance is a civil action for damages or an injunction or both.

Case Law: Rose v. Miles(1815) 4M &S. 101

The defendant had wrongfully obstructed a public navigable creek which obstructed the defendant from transporting his goods through the creek due to which he had to transport his good through land because of which he suffered extra costs in the transportation. It was held that the act of the defendant had caused a public nuisance as the plaintiff successfully proved that he had incurred loss over other members of the society and this he had a right of action against the defendant.

Conclusion

The concept of nuisance arises commonly in everyone’s daily life, in fact, the Indian courts have borrowed quite a lot from the English principles as well as from the decisions of the common law along with creating their own precedents. This has helped the concept of nuisance in the field of law develop quite extensively and assures the fairness and well being of all the parties which may be involved such as in the case of Private nuisance, the party which is being affected, as well as, in the case of public nuisance, where the society at large is being affected.