LAW OF TORTS

ASSIGNMENT

PARENTAL AUTHORITY & QUASI PARENTAL

VIJAYALAKSHMI

1st YEAR

B.A.LLB

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 PARENTAL AUTHORITY & QUASI PARENTAL AUTHORITY UNDER THE LAW
OF TORTS

- R VIJAYALAKSHMI1

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the principles of Parental Authority and Quasi Parental Authority under
the Law of Torts. It provides the legal provisions which come under Parental Authority and
Quasi Parental Authority, what are the remedies available to the child when there is any wrong,
and the defenses available for Parental Authority and Quasi Parental Authority. The paper also
discusses the factors to be considered in case of Parental Authority and Quasi Parental
Authority with different judicial pronouncements given by Indian and Foreign Courts.

INTRODUCTION

Torts mean a civil wrong. As we know, in India the regulation of tort isn't always codified. The
Law of Torts is originated from England. The damages are each financial and physical. But it
isn't always critical that tort is usually a civil incorrect, it's also a crook incorrect which include
battery, assault or defamation. The law of torts calls for the claimant to go through damages
which have been committed through the opposite party (the act ought to be a tortious act), this
means that a wrongful act. The 2 nd part of “general defense” beneathneath the regulation of tort
offers with the defense of certain authorities together with Parental and Quasi-Parental
Authority, officials of necessity, statutory authorities, etc. The Law of Torts makes an exception
for men and women performing beneathneath such right and exempts them from any civil
liability.

PARENTAL AUTHORITY

The word “parental” indicate parents. Parents give birth to the child, they have certain rights on
the child and some responsibilities towards the child. Parental authority can be defined as the
ensemble of rights and powers that the law accords to the father and mother with respect to the
persons and the goods of their unemancipated minor children, to the end of their accomplishing

1
1st Year Law Student at Chettinad School of Law, Chennai.

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the duties of protection, education and support that are incumbent on them 2. The future of a child
is in the hands of the parents. Various restrictions are required to be followed according to the
needs of the society and for this the parents are given authority to control and correct them by
either kind of force and such people are protected under the law of torts only if they act in a
reasonable manner and for a good cause. This right is preserved by the Children and Young
Persons Act, 1933. It is upon the Judge to decide whether the action was reasonable or not.

THE RIGHTS OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY UNDER LAW OF TORTS

Right to Custody: – Parents have every right to keep custody of their children. They do
everything necessary for their children. There are two types of custody. The first is legal custody
which has the right to make decisions for the child and the second is Physical custody which
means the right and duty to provide accommodation and care to the child.

Right to determine the Religion: – We know that there are 4 main religions in India, Hindu,
Muslim, Sikh and Christian. Parents have rights and duties to determine the religion of the child.
If he is born in a Hindu family, he is considered a Hindu and if he is born in a Muslim family, he
is considered a Muslim. It is an absolute right given to the parents.

Right to Education: – Education is one of the basic needs of human beings, so every parent
provides basic education to their children. Education is very important for livelihood. Without
education one cannot survive in this world. The Government of India also takes many steps to
promote education in schools. Free education is provided to girls in government schools and
there are seats reserved for one child in every school, whether private or government.

Right to Supervision: – If parents perform their duties towards their children, then they have
certain rights towards their children. One of them is the right of supervision which means, they
can monitor the activities of their children such that their children cannot indulge in any kind of
activities which is illegal or wrongdoing. If they are involved in any kind of activities, they take
steps for the betterment of the child.

Right to Control: – This right is very important for the welfare of the children. The right to
control means that if they believe that their children are not safe or that they are doing something

2
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Authority+of+Parents.

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that is not right, then in that case they can control their child’s life but not all times they can
control their children’s lives because they have their own personal life if they are attaining the
age of 18 and then they are legal adults and attain adulthood and let them make their own
decision.

Right to Reasonable Chastisement (Punish): – The parents have the right to punish the child
for their mistakes in a reasonable and moderate manner. They chastise their child because
parents always love their children, they respect their children. Where there is love there is always
a chastisement involved. Some relationships are from the heart, from the faith and also with
respect. Respect plays a major role in chastisement.

Right to Protection and Health Care: – As we all know the importance of health in the
COVID-19 situation. Everyone’s life is equally important. It is the responsibility of the parents to
protect the life of their children by providing proper and healthy food, nutrition and vitamins also
and to provide proper medical facilities and look after their children3.

QUASI PARENTAL AUTHORITY

Quasi – parental come from the Latin word “loco parentis” means ‘in the place of parents’. Quasi
parental authority has less rights then the parental authority. Parents when not in charge tend to
delegate their authority to someone else who can take care of their child. People with such
authority include the schoolmaster, superintendent or warden of the orphanage, hostel or children
observation home, etc. Parents may also delegate their authority to a babysitter who for a
particular time period takes care of the child, she acts as a quasi parent. Quasi parent is also
important for the student to leans the social norms and how to live in the society.

For example: When a parent places his child with a schoolmaster, he/she delegates to him all
his/her own authority, as far as it is necessary for the welfare of the child. The schoolmaster can,
therefore, inflict moderate chastisement on his pupil. This authority is not limited to acts done on
the premises of the school but may extend to acts done by them while on the way to and from the
school.

3
https://lawbhoomi.com/parental-and-quasi-parental-authority-under-law-of-torts/#:~:text=The%20main
%20important%20point%20in,to%20other%20person%20or%20authority.

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In India, many times it has been recognized that a teacher plays a very important role in a
student’s life. It is well recognized over the years that the quasi-parental rights of the teacher
come with an inherent right to take disciplinary action against the student and are enshrined in
the philosophy of the country as stated in R.C. Thampan and Ors. v The Principal Medical
College4.

The respondent was the headmaster of the school. Two boys fought on the way to school and the
defendant punished them. The headmaster has been held responsible for assault and battery. In
this case, the court held that the teacher was not liable as the authority of teachers is not limited
only to the school premises but also outside the school. It is clear that the parents have control
over the children at home and the teachers and principals in the school but the main question is
who is in charge between the school and the home. It can be rightly said that the authority here is
delegated to the teachers. They can not only correct them for their mistakes but also punish them.
So, in the above case, the boys fought outside the school and the headmaster had the right to
punish them5.

IMMODERATE USE OF THIS PRINCIPLE

Adults in a variety of settings are obliged to exercise discipline over the children in their care and
they may be liable in tort if a child suffers harm in a incident. There is a difference between
restraining children before doing a wrong and punishing them after they have done it. The degree
of usage of force determines whether it is a tort or not. The teacher cannot abstain from
punishment on the pretext that the punishment has left no mark on the body, in one way or
another if the punishment is likely to cause damage to the life and limb of the child, the teacher
shall be charged under the law of Torts6. The parents or quasi-parents cannot torture the children
under this provision. The child under confinement by the parents for the former’s welfare would
not amount to the tort of false imprisonment7 but when the child is punished and is in
confinement for two days without any access to food or water was held to have amounted to
tort8.

4
R.C. Thampan and Ors. v The Principal Medical College (AIR 1979 Ker 171).
5
Cleary vs. Booth ((1893) 1 Q.B. 465)
6
Sankunni vs. Swaminatha Pattar (AIR 1922 Mad 200).
7
The People v. Paul George Checketts
8
Vaughvan v. Taff Vale, (1860) L.R. 4 C.P. 629

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UNICEF defined corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and
intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting
(“smacking”, “slapping”, “spanking”) children, with the hand or with an implement 9. There
hasn’t been many cases of quasi-parental authority in India. However, in an attempt to exercise
the authority under the ambit of quasi parental or parental but there has been a deviant shift to the
increasing number of corporal punishment in India. It is quoted that Two out of three school
going children in India are physically abused says the national report on child abuse by the
Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007. The crime is rampant in every single
district of the country. In addition to the same, it included other non-physical forms of
punishment that are also cruel and degrading and thus incompatible with the Convention. These
include, for example, punishment which belittles, humiliates, denigrates, scapegoats, threatens,
scares or ridicules the child. The parents using force in excess going beyond the test of
reasonableness would suffer tortuous liability10.

LAWS AGAINST OVER USAGE OF POWER ON THE CHILDREN

Article 2111 protecting the ‘right to life’ is the first point of reference. The Child Rights Charter
2003 of India specifically states “All children have a right to be protected against neglect,
maltreatment, injury, trafficking, sexual and physical abuse of all kinds, corporal punishment,
torture, exploitation, violence and degrading treatment.” A parent or caregiver can take the
protection of the IPC and the JJ Act to file a police complaint in cases of corporal punishment.

Section 17 of the Right to Education Act, 2009, imposes an absolute bar on corporal punishment.
It prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment to children and prescribes disciplinary
action to be taken against the guilty person in accordance with the service rules applicable to
such person.

Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act prescribes punishment for cruelty to children.

Whenever a child is assaulted, abused, exposed or neglected in a manner to cause physical or

9
http://www.unicef.org/india/reallives_5449.htm
10
David Lee v. State of Florida (1869) L.R. 4 H.L. 171.
11
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution

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with the care and protection of the child, the punishment would be rigorous imprisonment upto
five years and fine up to Rs 5 lakh.

Prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in schools is identified as a priority in the

In August 2007, the NCPCR12 also wrote to all chief secretaries with detailed guidelines
recommending practical steps for the elimination of corporal punishment. In December of the
same year, the Human Resource Development Ministry also wrote to all Chief Secretaries
recommending that corporal punishment be prohibited in all schools in the jurisdiction of the
state government as it “severely affects the human dignity of the child, thereby reducing his/her
self esteem and self confidence”.

A Right to Education Bill13, which would achieve prohibition, has been placed in Rajya Sabha
and awaits enactment. It categorically states: “No child shall be subjected to physical punishment
or mental harassment. Whoever contravenes the provisions shall be liable to disciplinary action
under the service rules applicable to such person.”

NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Escalation: Mild punishments in infancy are so ineffective that they tend to escalate as the child
grows older. The little smack thus becomes a spanking and then a beating.

Encouraging violence: Even a little slap carries the message that violence is the appropriate
response to conflict or unwanted behaviour. Aggression breeds aggression. Children subjected to
physical punishment have been shown to be more likely than others to be aggressive to siblings;
to bully other children at school; to take part in aggressively anti-social behaviour in
adolescence; to be violent to their spouses and their own children and to commit violent crimes.

12
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
13
Bill No. LXV of 2008.

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National commissions on violence in America, Australia, Germany, South Africa and the UK
have recommended ending corporal punishment of children as an essential step towards reducing
all violence in society.

Psychological damage: Corporal punishment can be emotionally harmful to children. Research

CONCLUSION

This parental and quasi parental authority presents immunity to the individuals in opposition to
any liability for doing something for the welfare of the child. Parenting comes with sure rights
and responsibilities for an excellent upbringing of the child. Hence, it comes with the right to
correct him both with the aid of using phrases or chastisement in a slight manner. The court says
that the degree of punishment needs to be such that a prudent man could have considered it right.

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toaz.info-law-of-torts-project-iii-pr_825ecd67823aedb0d173309bc6fdfa9d.pdf

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 REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Ratanlal & Dhirajlal’s, The Law of Torts, LexisNexis India, (28th Edition, 2020-2021)
 W.E.B.Ball, Principles of Torts and Contracts, London Steven and Sons Limited (1880)

WEBLIOGRAPHY

 http://www.unicef.org/india/reallives_5449.htm
 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Authority+of+Parents

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