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Lecture On Nuisance

The document discusses the tort of nuisance in law. It defines nuisance and provides definitions from various legal thinkers. It outlines the essential elements of nuisance, the different types of nuisance including public and private nuisance, and provides examples of each. It also discusses nuisance with respect to property and physical discomfort and includes analysis of relevant case law.

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Saurav Anand
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89 views

Lecture On Nuisance

The document discusses the tort of nuisance in law. It defines nuisance and provides definitions from various legal thinkers. It outlines the essential elements of nuisance, the different types of nuisance including public and private nuisance, and provides examples of each. It also discusses nuisance with respect to property and physical discomfort and includes analysis of relevant case law.

Uploaded by

Saurav Anand
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CLASS - LL.M.

IVth SEM
SUBJECT - SPECIFIC TORT
PAPER CODE - L -4006

Topic: NUISANCE

Introduction

A person in possession of a property is entitled to its undisturbed enjoyment as per law.


However, if someone else’s improper use or enjoyment in his property ends up resulting into an
unlawful interference with his enjoyment or use of that property or of some of the rights over it,
or in connection with it, we can say that the tort of nuisance has occurred.

The word “nuisance” has been derived from the Old French word “nuire” which means “to cause
harm, or to hurt, or to annoy”. The Latin word for nuisance is “nocere” which means “to cause
harm”.

Nuisance is an injury to the right of a person’s possession of his property to undisturbed


enjoyment of it and results from an improper usage by another individual.

Definitions by Various thinkers

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.
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.

Kinds of Nuisance

1. Public Nuisance

The Indian Penal code defines nuisance as an act which causes any common injury, danger or
annoyance, to the people in general who dwell or occupy the property, in the vicinity, or which
must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to the people who may have
occasion to use any public right.

Public nuisance affects the society and the people living in it at large, or some considerable
portion of the society and it affects the rights which the members of the society might enjoy over
the property. The acts which seriously affects or interferes with the health, safety or comfort of
the general public is a public nuisance.

Instances where an individual may have a private right of action in respect to a public nuisance:

 He must show the existence of any personal injury which is of a higher degree than
the rest of the public.
 Such an injury has to be direct and not just a consequential injury.
 The injury must be shown to have a huge effect.

2. 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.

Elements which constitute a private nuisance

 The interference must be unreasonable or unlawful. It is meant that the act should not
be justifiable in the eyes of the law and should be by an act which no reasonable man
would do.
 Such interference has to be with the use or enjoyment of land, or of some rights over
the property, or it should be in connection with the property or physical discomfort.
 There should be seeable damage to the property or with the enjoyment of the property
in order to constitute a private nuisance.

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.

A nuisance may be in respect of either property or physical discomfort


1. Property

In the case of a nuisance with respect to the property, any sensible injury to the property will be
enough to support an action for the damages.

2. Physical discomfort

In a suit of nuisance arising out of physical discomfort, there are two essential conditions
required.

 In excess of the natural and ordinary course of enjoyment of the property.

The usage by the third party should be of out of the natural course of enjoyment from one party.

 Interfering with the ordinary conduct of human existence.

The discomfort should be of such a degree that it would affect an individual in the locality and
people would not be able to put up or tolerate with the enjoyment.

Case Law: Radhey Shyam v. Gur Prasad AIR 1978 All 86

Mr Gur Prasad Saxena and another filed a suit against Mr Radhey Shyam and five other
individuals for permanent injunction restraining the defendant from installing and running a flour
mill in the premises occupied by the defendant. Gur Prasad Saxena filed another suit against
Radhey Shyam and five other individuals for a permanent injunction from running and
continuing to run an oil expeller plant. The plaintiff has alleged that the mill was causing a lot of
noise which in turn was affecting the health of the plaintiff. It was held that by running a flour
mill in a residential area, the defendant was causing a nuisance to the plaintiff and affecting his
health severely.

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