June 28, 2021

Vicarious liability in criminal matters

According to the concept of vicaruous liability, one is responsible for the wrong of the other. The doctrine of vicarious liability is also referred to as joint liability. Vicarious liability can be exercised under both civil and criminal law. This liability only arises if there is a legal relationship between the parties or if the parties are linked in some way.

Contract of Service – In this contract, one person is already under the contract of the other and the service is of a certain type. This is a type of general contract and there are not many restrictions on the power to control the other, for example master servant relationship.
Contract for service – This is a contract for a specific reason and there is a limitation on the authority to exercise control over the actions of the other, such as the relationship between employer and employee.

Although the doctrine of vicarious liability is generally applicable in civil law, it is also applicable in criminal cases in certain exceptional cases. If a member of an illegal congregation commits a crime to further a common goal, under section 149 of the IPC, each member of that illegal congregation will be held responsible for that crime. Section 154 of the IPC concerns users or owners of property. If such a user or owner or a person who has an interest in the property does not inform the competent authority of the illegal gathering on that property or does not take the necessary measures on the property, they will also be held responsible for activities. Liability was established on the assumption that it is the owner or owner of the property; the person will be able to control the activities that take place on their property. Section 155 also makes a person liable for the failure of their representative or administrator on behalf of the owner or owner of the property if there is activity on the property and the agent or administrator does not prevent illegal activities from their property. Section 156 regulates the personal liability of the agent or administrator if illegal activities occur on the designated property. Sections 268 and 269 deal with public harassment and hold the captain personally responsible if the servant causes public harassment. IPC Section 499 also makes the captain personally liable if the servant defames anyone (provided that he falls under the definition of defamation in that section).

The license holder is responsible for the actions of this employee in the context of the employment relationship. Even if the acts committed contradict the instructions of the licensee, his liability remains. Emperor v. Magadevappa Hanmantappa has clarified this legislative proposal. The defendant was licensed under the Indian Explosives Act of 1884. The law stipulated that the manufacture of explosives should take place outside of a residential area. It may only be carried out in a building that is exclusively intended for production purposes. One day the servant was pulling supplies from the building to perform a manufacturing process. Then there was an explosion. For this, the defendant was held responsible by the court.

The concept of vicarious liability can be described as a civil law concept, but as the law evolves, the courts have begun to apply the doctrine to criminal matters as well. Sometimes it is very important to establish the liability of a client in order to protect the interests of the injured party and also to avoid a blame game between the parties, which in turn can delay justice.

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