Principle of res ipsa loquitur - Indian Laws - General

Principle of res ipsa loquitur- The general purport of the words res ipsa loquitur is that the accident speaks for itself or tell's its own story. Salmond on the Law of Torts (15th Ed.) at p. 306 states: The maxim res ipsa loquitur applies whenever it is so improbable that such an accident would have happened without the negligence of the defendant that a reasonable jury could find without further evidence that it was so caused. In Halsbury's Laws of England, 3rd Ed., Vol. 28, at p. 77 , the position is stated thus: An exception to the general rule that the burden of proof of the alleged negligence is in the first instance on the plaintiff occurs wherever the facts already established are such that .the proper and natural inference arising from them is, that the injury complained of was caused by the defendant's negligence, or where the event charged as negligence tells its own story' of negligence on the part of the defendant, the story so told being clear and unambiguous. Where the maxim is applied the burden is on the defendant to show either that in fact he was not negligent or that the accident might more probably have happened in a manner which did not connote negligence on his part. For the application of the principle it must be shown that the car was under the management of the defendant and that the accident is such as in ordinary course of things does not happen if those who had the management used proper care. (Pushpabai Purshottam Udeshi and Ors. v. M/s. Ranjit Ginning Pressing Co. (P) Ltd. and Anr.- 1977 (3) TMI 165 - SUPREME COURT) JACOB MATHEW VERSUS STATE OF PUNJAB ANR.- [ 2005 (8) TMI 621 - SUPREME COURT] .......Res ipsa loquitur is only a rule of evidence and operates in the domain of civil law specially in cases of torts and helps in determining the onus of proof in actions relating to negligence. It cannot be pressed in service for determining per se the liability for negligence within the domain of criminal law. Res ipsa loquitur has, if at all, a limited application in trial on a charge of criminal negligence..........