TORT-> LAWFUL ACT & BAD MOTIVE (MOTIVE,MALICE & INTENTION)
“ACTIONS ARE VISIBLE, THOUGH MOTIVES ARE SECRET”
-Samuel Johnson
- DEFINITION AND MEANING
Lawful Act- Lawful act by its name says an act which is done lawfully and legally or which is permissible and acceptable in nature.
Bad Motive- Bad motive means an instigation or an implicit cause which makes a person do illegal or bad in nature things.
- DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWFUL ACT AND BAD MOTIVE
Lawful act is legally done which is an action altogether but bad motive is the seed behind the (going to do) activity in future.
Lawful act is already done and is generally positive in nature whereas, bad motive is an action which is negative in nature.
- MOTIVE, INTENTION & MALICE IN TORTS
Motive is an implicit cause which instigates a person to commit an act. It is a general state of mind of a person, it could be good or bad. Motive leads to intention formation. In figure of speech, It is the root seed behind the plant, similarly Motive leads to intention. The cause which induce a person to commit crime is a motive. Motive is not essential in torts.
Intention is an idea or plan that you carry out to execute saying in layman’s language. Intention comes after motive. In torts, Intentional tort is a crime which a person commits knowing the consequences of his actions. Unintentional tort by the name says where a person has no idea what his/her consequences might end them.
Malice is an act which is done with bad intentions. It comes after Intention has seeded in mind. Malice in torts leads to wrongful acts of all kinds.
Motive-> Intention-> Malice
1st phase^ 2nd phase^ 3rd phase^
- MOTIVE
Motive is a person’s state of mind behind an act he commits. Motive is generally irrelevant in torts like intent. Motive is an ultimate act formation whereas intention is the root seed behind the act.
2.1 EXCEPTIONS TO RULE
Sometimes there are cases where and certain categories of torts where the motive may be an essential element and relevant for liability.
Cases such as deceit, malicious prosecution, injurious falsehood and defamation where defence may arise if only in good faith.
In case of nuisance, personal discomfort by an unlawful motive may turn into an lawful act nuisance(Palmer v Lodger 1962)
- INTENTION
3.1 (a) Intentional Tort & Related Case
An intentional tort is committed when a person has full knowledge and control of his actions. It is an mental element to commit an act.
Intentional tort includes the following:-
3.2 BATTERY
Purposely applied force on other person as to cause him harm without his consent leads to battery. It is only when actual physical contact takes place.
Battery is further divided into 2 categories:-
3.2 (a) Criminal Battery
When a person commits battery with a purpose and intention to kill the other it amounts to criminal battery. Generally, intentional plays a major role here.
(b) Civil Battery
3.3 ASSAULT
When a person creates an apprehension to cause harm to another person amounts to assault. Assault could be verbally too. The difference here comes between battery and assault is In battery, physical contact is must whereas in Assault, physical contact is not mandatory.
3.4 FALSE IMPRISONMENT
False Imprisonment occur when a person (who doesn’t have lawful means or authority) restricts and restraint the other person’s activity or ability to move freely. This is also called as Unlawful Imprisonment. It is a civil wrong(IPC) and morally too(Torts law).
Ex: A person locking another person in a room against their will.
3.5 TRESPASS
It is the unlawful, unreasonable invasion of property, land, person or goods. The unlawful can harass and harm anybody. It is an area pf criminal law as well as tort law. It is broadly classified into three categories:-
- Trespass to person
- Trespass to chattels &
- Trespass to land
3.6 UNINTENTIONAL TORT
An unintentional tort is a type when unintended accidents tat lead to injury, property damage, or financial loss. In this, the wrongdoer does not intend to cause harm, injury but nevertheless results due to accident caused by negligence and recklessness. It is without any mala fide intention.
Case: Wilkinson v Downton 1897 2 QB 57
The defendant joked that her husband encountered an accident and is seriously critical in the hospital. Listening this the wife was shocked to hear and got ill subsequently. She sued the defendant for damages under tort.
The defendant said that the intention was not to cause harm but a joke to consider. The court dismissed the claim, and held the defendant liable. The court said that intention is not needed as it was purely a deliberate act and he knew the consequences of his act.
Other negligence cases are:-
Slip and fall accidents, car or truck accidents or medical malpractice etc.
3.7 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOTIVE AND INTENTION
MOTIVE: It induces a person to do or abstain from doing a particular act.
It is the driving force behind intention. It is implied. In torts, it is of no use. Motive implies the motivation behind the act. For ex: Reason behind what motivated him to commit battery.
INTENTION: It is a purposeful action and a decision to perform an act. In torts, it is forbidden by law. Intention comes after motive. It describes the will or plan of the individual. No matter it is good or bad intent, it amounts to criminal liability as he breaks the law.
- MALICE
When an act is done with bad intentions, it amounts to malice. Similarly an act which becomes malicious and unlawful if used for purpose such as wrongful acts of all kind. Malice is the third stage in torts after motive and intention. Malice in law means improper or evil motive.
Case: Town Area Committee v Prabhu Dayal AIR 1975 All 132
The court observed that “mere malice cannot disentitle a person from taking recourse of law for getting the wrong undone. It is, therefore, not necessary to investigate whether the action is motivated by malice or not.”
- EXCEPTIONS TO MALICE
- When the act is otherwise unlawful and wrongful intention can be gathered from the circumstances of the case.
- Malice with respect to the litigant to be demonstrated in torts of deceit, malicious prosecution.
- The presence of malice in cases of defamation negatives good faith and the defendant cannot avoid liability by the defense of qualified privilege in such a case.
- Causing personal discomfort by an unlawful motive may turn a qualified lawful act into a nuisance.
- Malice which results in aggravation of damages.
CONCLUSION
As discussed thoroughly about torts law and how is this different from criminal law makes us realise that we need to know more about morally wrongdoings. Terms such as motive, intention and malice accounts for a wrongful act if done illegally. There’s exceptions in malice but motive and intent must be good or else it’ll be liable for damages. However, in some cases it may not be liable as mentioned.
“A man is angry at a libel because it is false, but at a satire because it is true”
-G.K. Chesterton.
