Skip to main content
Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law
Document Fragment View
Matching Fragments
“10. The jurisprudential concept of negligence defines any
precise definition. Eminent jurists and leading judgments have
assigned various meanings to negligence. The concept as has been
acceptable to Indian jurisprudential thought is well stated in
the Law of Torts, Ratanlal & Dhirajlal (24th Edn., 2002, edited
by Justice G.P. Singh).
Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by the omission to do
something which a reasonable man, guided by those considerations
which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs would do,
or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not
do. Actionable negligence consists in the neglect of the use of
ordinary care or skill towards a person to whom the defendant
owes the duty of observing ordinary care and skill, by which
neglect the plaintiff has suffered injury to his person or
property…. The definition involves three constituents of
negligence: (1) A legal duty to exercise due care on the part of
the party complained of towards the party complaining the
former’s conduct within the scope of the duty; (2) breach of the
said; and (3) consequential damage. Cause of -action for
negligence arises only when damage occurs; for, damage is a
necessary ingredient of this tort.”