Let us look at two landmark cases to better understand the principle of Injuria Sine Damno.
In Ashby v. White, the plaintiff Ashby, wanted to vote in a particular election. He was legally entitled to vote. And he wanted to vote for a specific candidate.
However, the defendant, who was an official managing the election, prevented Ashby from voting, citing some weak reason.
So, Ashby approached the court claiming damages - stating that his rights had been violated.
Lord Chief Justice Holt, who presided over the case, established the principle of ‘injuria sine damno,’ meaning ‘injury without damage., in this case - which makes this a landmark judgement in Tort law.
He ruled that Ashby did not suffer any actual loss - like a financial loss - and even the candidate who Ashby wanted to vote for anyways won the election - so in reality, Ashby had not suffered any damage.
But, Ashby’s legal right to vote had been violated - leading to a tort being committed - and Ashby was entitled to damages as a result.
Bhim Singh v. State of Jammu & Kashmir is a landmark case from India, where Bhim Singh, an MLA, was wrongfully detained by the police and was prevented from attending a legislative assembly session.
The supreme court ruled that even though there was no actual loss suffered by Bhim Singh, his fundamental right of personal liberty was violated, resulting in a tort.
So, the court awarded him compensation for the violation.
19 сен 2024
