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.
Examples- acts interfering with comfort, health or safety of the person in the way of Noise, Vibration, Heat, Smoke, Smell, Fumes Water Gas, Electricity Excavation Disease producing germs Sewer Obstructions

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.
Blackstone, ‘nuisance as some thing that worketh hurt, inconvenience or damage’.
Winfield, ‘ nuisance is incapable of exact definition but for the purpose of law of tort, it may be described as unlawful interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or of some right over, or in connection with it.’
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.

ESSENTIALS

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.

Actual damage/ loss-

Inconvenience or annoyance caused to another which the law considers as substantial or material as opposed to sensitivity or delicacy.

In Ushaben v. Bhagyalaxmi Chitra Mandir,

the plaintiffs’-appellants sued the defendants-respondents for a permanent injunction to restrain them from exhibiting the film “Jai Santoshi Maa”. It was contended that the exhibition of the film was a nuisance because the plaintiff’s religious feelings were hurt as Goddesses Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati were defined as jealous and were ridiculed.
The court dismissed the plea stating that hurt to religious feeling was not an actionable wrong and the Plaintiff is free to not watch the movie. Hence, it was held that in order to claim damages for Nuisance, the Interference shall be in a state of continuing wrong.

TYPES 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.

Section 268 of Indian Penal Code define public nuisance as , ‘an act or omission which causes any common injury or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right.
Essential ingredients for public nuisance
A person must have done an act or an illegal omission.
Such act or ommission
i. Must cause any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity
ii. Must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to person who may have occasion to use any public right.

Soltou v. De Held (1851)-Ringing of bell through out 24 hrs held public nuisance.
Campbell v. Paddington corporation(1911) Obstruction of view of procession of King Edward VII by corporation held public nuisance
Land mortgage bank of India v. Ahmedbhoy and others (1883), smoke and noise of cotton mill held public nuisance.
Leanse v. Egerton (1943)-falling glass from window held public nuisance.
Attorney General v. P.Y.A. Quarries (1957) – Dust and vibration of quarries held public nuisance.
Dr. Ram Raj Singh v. Babulal AIR 1982 -Dust of brick grinding machine held public nuisance.

Bombay Hawker’s Union v. Bombay Municipality Corporation AIR 1985 -All encroachment on footpath is public nuisance.

South Calcutta Hawker’s Association v. Government of W.B AIR 1997 -All encroachment on footpath is public nuisance.

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.

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
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.
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.

Radhey Shyam v. Gur Prasad AIR 1978 –

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.

DEFENCES

Prescription –

A prescription is a title acquired by use and time and which is allowed by the law, a person claims any property because his ancestors have had the possession of the property by law.
Prescription is a special kind of defence, as, if a nuisance has been peacefully and openly been going on without any kind of interruption then the defence of prescription is available to the party. On the expiration of this term of twenty years, the nuisance becomes legalised as if it had been authorised in its commencement by a grant from the owner of the land.
The essence of prescription is explained in Section 26 of the limitations act and Section 15 of the Easements Act.

There are three essentials to establish a person’s right by prescription, these are:
Use or enjoyment of the property: The use or enjoyment of the property must be acquired by the individual by law and the use or enjoyment must be done openly and peacefully.
Identity of the thing/property enjoyed: The individual should be aware of the identity of thing or property which he or she is peacefully or publically enjoying.
It should be unfavourable to the rights of another individual: The use or enjoyment of the thing or property should be of such a nature that it should be affecting the rights of another individual thus causing a nuisance and even after knowing of such a nuisance being caused there must’ve been no action taken against the person causing it for at least twenty years.

Statutory authority
When a statute authorises the doing of a particular act or the use of land in a way, all the remedies whether by action or indictment or charge, are taken away. Provided that every necessary reasonable precaution has been taken.
The statutory authority may be either absolute or conditional.
When there is an absolute authority, the statue allows the act and it is not necessary that the act must cause a nuisance or any other form of injury.
Whereas in the case where there is a conditional authority, the state allows the act to be done only if it can be done without any causation of nuisance or any other form of injury.

REMEDIES

Injunction –

An injunction is a judicial order restraining a person from doing or continuing an act which might be threatening or invading the legal rights of another. It may be in the form of a temporary injunction which is granted on for a limited period of time which may get reversed or confirmed. If it is confirmed, then it takes the form of a permanent injunction.

Damages –

The damages may be offered in terms of compensation to the aggrieved party, these could be nominal damages. The damages to be paid to the aggrieved party is decided by the statue and the purpose of the damages is not just compensating the individual who has suffered but also making the defendant realise his mistakes and deter him from repeating the same wrong done by him.

Abatement –

Abatement of nuisance means the removal of a nuisance by the party who has suffered, without any legal proceedings. This kind of remedy is not favoured by the law. But is available under certain circumstances.
This privilege must be exercised within a reasonable time and usually requires notice to the defendant and his failure to act. Reasonable for may be used to employ the abatement, and the plaintiff will be liable if his actions go beyond reasonable measures.
Example: Ace and Beck are neighbours, Beck has a poisonous tree on his land which overtime outgrows and reaches the land of Ace. Now Ace has every right to cut that part of the tree which is affect his enjoyment of his land with prior notice to Beck. But if Ace goes to Beck, land without his permission, and chops off the entire tree which then falls on the land of Beck, then Ace shall be in the wrong here as his action taken would be beyond reasonableness.

Aishwarya Says:

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