Judicial and quasi-judicial acts; parental and quasi-parental authority; statutory authority and mistake
LUG-101 Law of Torts including Motor Vehicle Accident and Consumer Protection Act, Unit II: Judicial and quasi-judicial acts. · LLB · 60 min
This lecture completes the general defences. It explains judicial immunity and its basis in judicial independence (the Judicial Officers' Protection Act 1850, the Judges (Protection) Act 1985, BNS ss. 15-16, Sirros v. Moore, Anwar Hussain v. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee), the protection of quasi-judicial bodies and of officers executing warrants, the authority of parents and of those in loco parentis to correct a child (Cleary v. Booth, R v. Newport (Salop) Justices) and its modern restriction in India by s. 17 of the RTE Act 2009, absolute and conditional statutory authority (Metropolitan Asylum District v. Hill), and mistake as a defence. It answers 2025-26 Q2(a)(ii) and closes with a revision table of all the general defences.
Objectives
- Explain the rationale and limits of judicial immunity in tort under the Judicial Officers' Protection Act 1850 and the Judges (Protection) Act 1985.
- Apply Sirros v. Moore and Anwar Hussain v. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee to acts done beyond jurisdiction in good faith.
- Explain the protection of quasi-judicial bodies and of officers executing a court's warrant (BNS s. 16).
- State the defence of parental and quasi-parental authority with Cleary v. Booth and explain its restriction by the RTE Act 2009 and the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.
- Distinguish absolute and conditional statutory authority and state when mistake is a defence.
Slides
- Why judges are immune
- The statutes: Judicial Officers' Protection Act 1850 and Judges (Protection) Act 1985
- Acting beyond jurisdiction in good faith: Sirros v. Moore (1975)
- Indian authority: Anwar Hussain v. Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee (1965) and Calder v. Halket
- Quasi-judicial bodies and officers acting under warrant
- Parental and quasi-parental authority
- Teachers in loco parentis: Cleary v. Booth (1893) and R v. Newport (Salop) Justices (1929)
- The Indian position on corporal punishment
- Statutory authority: absolute and conditional
- Mistake; and a revision table of the general defences
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