Torts Against Person and Personal Relations: Part IV: Malicious Prosecution
Malicious Prosecution means the institution, against an innocent person, of unsuccessful
criminal proceedings without reasonable and probable cause and in a malicious spirit and
not in furtherance of justice and causing damage to the plaintiff in person, pocket or
reputation.
Loss of liberty
Even the anticipation of arrest or conviction creates a fear in the person who is accused.
Thomson v. Metropolitan Police 1998 talks about the fear.
Hicks v. Faulkner 1881
Saville v. Roberts 1698 was the originating case for malicious prosecution.
E.H v. A.B 2009, in this case the accused when acquitted filed a case against the prosecutor
but the court held that even though she gave false evidence she can only be liable for that
and not for maliciously prosecuting the acquitted person as she did not file the case herself,
she disclosed it to another friend of hers not knowing that the friend will file for a suit.
Reynolds v Kennedy sometimes a person can be convicted at the stage of trial but can be
acquitted in the judgment but then also he can file for malicious Prosecution.
It is difficult to understand who's the prosecutor.
The person who has been discharged can file for malicious prosecution.
Essentials:
Prosecution by defendant
Termination of proceedings in plaintiff’s favour.
Prosecution should have started without any reasonable and probable cause.
Prosecution must have been initiated with a malicious intention.
Plaintiff must suffer damage.
1. Prosecution by defendant
Two elements required:
Plaintiff was prosecuted
Defendant was the prosecutor
To prosecute means to set law in motion, which is done by an appeal to some person
clothed with judicial authority in regard to that matter. The gist of the action is that
the defendant set the Magistrate is motion.
Cases-
