INTRODUCTION
Now, let’s say you leave your house on a quick errand and find yourself in a room where you are being restrained against your will. Or say that you are not allowed to leave a store by a security guard who accused you of stealing an item without any evidence.[1] You are not in jail, but your freedom to walk away has been impaired.
This is called false imprisonment. False imprisonment is a civil wrong that goes against someone’s human liberty.[2] It may sound like something you read in certain thrillers or crime novels, or maybe even see on a TV show, but it actually happens more often in reality. False imprisonments represent the delicate balance between authority and personal Liberty.
In this blog, we will provide some background and context to false imprisonments, together with some examples and leading cases, relief available to victims, and consider the importance of false imprisonment to all of us.
WHAT IS FALSE IMPRISONMENT?
False imprisonment essentially means that a person has been detained against their will, unlawfully, without consent, and without legal justification.
In more basic terms:
- False imprisonment occurs when someone restricts your freedom to move while lacking a lawful right to do so.
- It does not matter whether you are placed in a room with a locked door, physically restrained, or threatened in such a manner that you feel you cannot leave.
False imprisonment is both a tort (civil wrong) in tort law and may also be a crime, depending on the relevant penal law in the appropriate jurisdiction.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF FALSE IMPRISONMENT
To claim false imprisonment, the three key elements must be present:
- Total Restraint –You must be totally restrained from moving, not just partially. To use an example, if one exit is blocked but the other exit is open, that is not total restraint and would not amount to a false imprisonment.[3]
- Without Lawful Justification – If the police properly arrest you under a relevant warrant or reasonable grounds, then it is not classified or known as false imprisonment.[4] There may be unlawful detention where police may detain you contrary to the law, and those who are acting under unlawful authority.
- Without Consent – False imprisonment cannot be claimed if you willingly agree to stay in a location.[5]
Example: A shop owner has a suspected shoplifter in their store in a room, and there is no evidence, and the police are not called. It could be false imprisonment.
FALSE IMPRISONMENT VS. WRONGFUL CONFINEMENT
These two terms often confuse many people.
- False Imprisonment: False imprisonment is the unlawful restraint of a person’s liberty by any means, such as preventing someone from leaving a store.[6]
- Wrongful Confinement: Wrongful confinement is a specific kind of false imprisonment in which the person is confined to a certain area, similar to being locked in a room.[7]
So, all wrongful confinement is false imprisonment, but not all false imprisonment is wrongful confinement.[8]
FALSE IMPRISONMENT IN INDIAN LAW
False imprisonment is dealt with in India, in both civil law (Law of Torts) and criminal law (Indian Penal Code, 1860).[9]
(a) Law of Torts
An individual can be held liable for damages for unlawful restraint. The aim is to protect an individual’s right to their freedom.[10]
(b) Indian Penal Code (IPC)
- Section 339 (Wrongful Restraint) – Section 339 provides that whoever voluntarily obstructs any person, to prevent that person from proceeding in the direction they have a right to proceed, is said to commit wrongful restraint.
- Section 340 (Wrongful Confinement) – Section 340 provides that whoever wrongfully restrains any person in such a manner as to prevent that person from moving beyond certain circumscribed limits is said to commit wrongful confinement.
- Punishments:
- Wrongful restraint – Simple imprisonment for 1 month &/or a fine for ₹500 (Section 341 IPC).
- Wrongful confinement – Imprisonment for 1 year &/or a fine for ₹1000 (Section 342 IPC).[11]
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF FALSE IMPRISONMENT
To understand better, let’s walk through some everyday scenarios:
- Shop Detentions – A customer is detained by the store staff in the expectation that they may have or are attempting to steal something, when there is no evidential basis to do so, and no police have been called in.[12]
- Workplace Restrictions – An employee is locked in the office until they finish some outstanding work or sign a resignation letter.[13]
- Domestic Abuse – A physically abusive partner locks their spouse in a house or restricts their mobility.[14]
- Police Misuse of Power – A police officer arrests someone without legal grounds, or fails to let a person go in the time that is legally required.[15]
- Private Disputes – A private dispute with a neighbour or landlord that stops you from leaving a property.[16]
These situations demonstrate that false imprisonment can arise during any type of activity – whether you are in a mall, workplace, home, or public space.
CASE LAWS ON FALSE IMPRISONMENT
Now, let’s examine some important cases that have influenced the law.
(a) Indian Cases
- Rudal Shah v. State of Bihar (1983)
Rudal Shah was imprisoned for 14 years after being acquitted. Following the wrongful imprisonment, the Supreme Court awarded Shah compensation, stating that unlawful imprisonment cannot be allowed because it impedes fundamental rights.[17]
- Bhim Singh v. State of Jammu & Kashmir (1986)
Bhim Singh, an MLA, was wrongfully detained by the police to obstruct him from attending an assembly session. The court ruled that this was a gross violation of their liberty, and monetary compensation was awarded.[18]
- State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992)
The federal and state governments have up 10 important directions for police in furtherance of preventing the abuse of their powers in detainee arrest and detention cases. [19]
(b) English Cases
- Bird v. Jones (1845)
A man was prevented by police from crossing over a bridge, but was free to go back the opposite way from which he came. The court held that this was not false imprisonment as there was no total restraint.[20]
- Meering v. Grahame-White Aviation (1919)
Even when the detained person was not conscious that he/she was being detained, this would still amount to false imprisonment.[21]
REMEDIES FOR FALSE IMPRISONMENT
Victims of false imprisonment have a variety of remedies available to them:
(a) Civil Remedies
- Damages: Damages for loss of liberty, mental suffering, and injury to reputation.
- Habeas Corpus Petition: A writ can be filed under Article 32 or Article 226 of the Constitution for unlawful detention.[22]
(b) Criminal Remedies
- Offenders can be tried under the IPC (sections 339 -348).[23]
- Punishments may include imprisonment or fines.
(c) Constitutional Remedies
- Article 21 must be considered because it involves the right to life and personal liberty.
- The Supreme Court and High Courts in India have also been taking very seriously their responsibilities of protecting individuals from unlawful detention under Article 21.[24]
HUMAN IMPACT OF FALSE IMPRISONMENT
While the legal definitions entailed here may seem technical, the real impacts of false arrest and false imprisonment are deeply personal.
Some human impacts of false imprisonment include:
- Reputation – The accusation of being accused or arrested can ruin a person’s reputation.[25]
- Cause Trauma – Victims may experience trauma that causes them anxiety, depression, fear, etc.[26]
- Financial Loss – Loss of time while being wrongfully detained may cost jobs or income.[27]
- Family Distress – Families experience social and emotional distress when a member is wrongfully detained.[28]
PREVENTING FALSE IMPRISONMENT
To reduce the number of incidents, authorities and individuals must act responsibly:
- For Police/Authorities: You must follow due process and respect fundamental rights.[29]
- For Businesses: Security personnel must be able to act properly on lawfully suspected behaviour.[30]
- For Citizens: Don’t take the law into your own hands; instead, call the proper authorities.[31]
- For Government: Ensure judicial remedies for victims of false imprisonment can occur speedily.[32]
CONCLUSION
False imprisonment can be understood well beyond a legal definition; it is about the dignity that comes with being a human being.[33] It is about the right to travel, to breathe without being chained, to simply live your life openly without confinement by an authority without the proper mandate. [34]
When this freedom has been stripped from us, be it due to the overzealous nature of the law enforcement officer[35], an unyielding shop owner, or by an unintentional family relative, it hurts deeper than losing your rights due to false imprisonment. While no provision is more appropriate for assessing the loss than the courts of law, it is primarily about being aware and taking great care moving forward.[36]
When you next find out that someone was falsely imprisoned, remember it is not just a case of false imprisonment; it is about a person who lost their liberty, and all stories of lost liberty deserve to be told.
Author(s) Name: Aditya Parashar (Jims Engineering Management Technical Campus, Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University)
References:
[1] Rudul Shah v State of Bihar (1983) 4 SCC 141
[2] W V H Rogers, Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort (10th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2010) 125
[3] Bird v Jones (1845) 7 QB 742
[4] Indian Penal Code 1860, s 41
[5] W V H Rogers (n 2) (consent in tort)
[6] Indian Penal Code 1860, s 339 (wrongful restraint – general false imprisonment)
[7] Indian Penal Code 1860, s 340 (wrongful confinement – specific restraint)
[8] W V H Rogers (n 2) (distinction between false imprisonment and wrongful confinement)
[9] Indian Penal Code 1860
[10] W V H Rogers (n 2)
[11] Indian Penal Code 1860, ss 339–342
[12] ibid
[13] W V H Rogers (n 2)
[14] Rudul (n 1)
[15] Bhim Singh v State of Jammu & Kashmir (1986) 1 SCC 494
[16] Indian Penal Code (n 11)
[17] Rudul (n 1)
[18] Bhim Singh (n 15)
[19] State of Haryana v Bhajan Lal (1992) Cri LJ 1491
[20] Bird (n 3)
[21] Meering v Grahame-White Aviation (1919) 122 LT 44
[22] Constitution of India 1950, arts 32, 226
[23] Indian Penal Code (n 11)
[24] Constitution of India 1950, art 21; Rudul (n 1)
[25] Rudul (n 1)
[26] Bhim (n 15)
[27] W V H Rogers (n 2)
[28] Constitution of India 1950, art 21
[29] ibid
[30] Indian Penal Code 1860 (n 11)
[31] W V H Rogers (n 2)
[32] Constitution of India 1950 (n 22)
[33] W V H Rogers (n 2)
[34] Constitution of India (n 28)
[35] Rudul (n 1)
[36] W V H Rogers (n 2)
