It is already known that the Indian law of torts is based on the English common law. Thus, the law relating to negligence is adopted and modified by the courts of India on the principles of justice, equity and good conscience. The term Negligence is derived from the Latin word negligent, which means ‘failing to pick up’. In the general sense, the term negligence means the act of being careless and in the legal sense; it signifies the failure to exercise a standard of care which the doer as a reasonable man should have exercised in a particular situation. Negligence in English law emerged as an independent cause of action only in the 18th century. Similarly in Indian law, the IPC, 1860 contained no provision for causing the death of a person by negligence which was subsequently amended in the year 1870 by inserting section 304A.

It can be characterized in three forms-

Nonfeasance: It means the act of failure to do something which a person should have done. For example, failure to carry out the repairs of an old building when it should have been done.

Misfeasance: It means the act of not doing an action properly when it should have been done properly. For example, doing the repairs of an old building but doing so by using very poor quality materials creating a major probability of a collapse which injures people.

Malfeasance: It means the act of doing something which should not have been done in the first place itself. For example, using products that are not allowed and combustible to carry out the repairs of an old building, therefore, converting the building into a firetrap leading to an accident.

It is one of the essential conditions of negligence in order to make the person liable.
It means that every person owes a duty of care, to another person while performing an act. Although this duty exists in all acts, but in negligence, the duty is legal in nature and cannot be illegal or unlawful and also cannot be of moral, ethical or religious nature.

A duty arises when the law recognizes a relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff and requires the defendant to act in a certain manner toward the plaintiff. It is not sufficient that the defendant owed a duty of care towards the plaintiff but it must also be established which is usually determined by the judge.

It’s not enough for a plaintiff to prove that the defendant owed him a duty of care but he must also establish that the defendant breached his duty to the plaintiff. A defendant breaches such a duty by failing to exercise reasonable care in fulfilling the duty. In other words, the breach of a duty of care means that the person who
has an existing duty of care should act wisely and not omit or commit any act which he has to do or not do as said in the case of Blyth v. Birmingham Waterworks Co, (1856). In simple terms, it means non-observance of a standard of care.