Saheli V. Commissioner Of Police, 1990 AIR-513: A Critical Analysis

Srijan Bisht, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

The case of Saheli v. Commissioner of Police is concerned with the concepts of Vicarious Liability of the employer for the acts of its employees. It is a landmark judgment that holds strong precedent for cases concerning compensation through damages and the state being liable if the tortfeasor is the state’s employee. This case was chosen to analyse for this research as it is an extremely important case that follows the events of a crucial fight against the system that was fought by the plaintiff.

This paper consists of a detailed analysis of the facts of the case, and an in-depth timeline of its events, followed by an analysis of its judgment and all the relevant tortious concepts that apply. The paper also goes in-depth within the history of the doctrine of ‘vicarious liability of the state’ and analyses it from the viewpoints of various landmark judgments, and offer a personal interpretation of the same.

Keywords: Vicarious Liability, Vicarious Liability of State, Trespass, Assault, Brutality, etc.