Multiple choice

Directions: Given below is a statement of facts of a case. Following the statement are a few principles of law are given in the form of certain propositions. Apply the principles to the facts of the case and encircle the most reasonable answer out of the alternatives given:

Facts: Hanuman Stores sent certain items in a horse carriage to a customer's house, which happened to be by the side of a main road and near a School Zone. The driver of the carriage delivered the items to the customers and went inside the house to collect the receipt, leaving the carriage unattended on the road. Some naughty children of nearby school threw stones at the horses. The horses ran in confusion and they were about to run over an old woman. A traffic police, at great risk to his life, somehow seized the horses and stopped the carriage. He suffered serious personal injuries in the process. The policeman seeks compensation from Hanuman Stores.

Principles:

  1. Whoever is under a duty of care to another shall be liable for any injury to the latter directly resulting from the breach of that duty.
  2. Harm suffered voluntarily does not constitute legal injury.

  1. Hanuman Stores is not liable because some naughty children scared away their horses,

  2. The School Management ought to have taken care to discipline the children.

  3. The Hanuman Stores is liable because the driver ought to have anticipated the naughty conduct on the part of the children.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Hanuman Stores' driver should have reasonably foreseen that leaving a horse carriage unattended near a school during school hours could create a dangerous situation. Children's unpredictable behavior around animals is foreseeable, and the driver had a duty to take precautions (such as not leaving the carriage unattended or securing the horses properly). This failure to anticipate foreseeable harm makes Hanuman Stores liable.

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