A person who, without having any interest in the subject matter of a civil proceeding, provides pecuniary assistance or support to a party under an agreement that he shall receive a share in the proceeds of the litigation, is guilty of?

Question

“In India, the government can be held liable for tortious acts of its servants and can be ordered to be paid compensation to the persons suffering as a result of the legal wrong. Article 294(b) of the Constitution declares that the liability of the Union Government or the State Government may arise “out of any contract or otherwise”. The word otherwise implies that the said liability may arise for tortious acts as well. Article 300 enables the institution of appropriate proceedings against the government for enforcing such liability. … Even prior to the commencement of the Constitution, the liability of the Government for tortious acts of its servants or agents were recognised vide Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. v. Secy. of State, (1868-69) 5 Bom HCR APP 1. After the commencement of the Constitution, there have been several cases in which the Union of India and State Governments were held liable for tortious acts of their employees, servants and agents. All those cases were not necessarily by invoking the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Though, the Government is liable for tortious acts of its officers, servants or employees, normally, such liability cannot be enforced by a Writ Court. An aggrieved party has the right to approach the competent court or authority to seek damages or compensation in accordance with the law of the land.
... But if fundamental rights have been violated, and if the court is satisfied that the grievance of the petitioner is well founded, it may grant the relief by enforcing a person’s fundamental right. Such relief may be in the form of monetary compensation/damages”.
[Extracted from: Kaushal Kishore v. State of Uttar Pradesh, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 113 of 2016, decided on January 3, 2023.]

Answer 1

Step 1: Define Maintenance as a tort.
Maintenance is the improper assistance given to a party in litigation by a person who has no legal interest in the case; the helper provides support but does NOT claim any share of the litigation proceeds - the act of helping itself is the wrong.
Step 2: Distinguish Champerty from Maintenance.
Champerty is an aggravated form of Maintenance; in Champerty the person helping the litigant makes an agreement to receive a SHARE of the proceeds if the litigation succeeds - this bargain for a share is what elevates Maintenance to Champerty.
Step 3: Apply to the given facts.
Here the person has no legal interest in the proceedings but additionally bargains for a share of the proceeds if successful; this combination - no interest + bargaining for a share = Champerty; Barratry involves habitually stirring up groundless litigation, which is not the case here.
\[ \boxed{\text{Champerty}} \]

A person who, without having any interest in the subject matter of a civil proceeding, provides pecuniary assistance or support to a party under an agreement that he shall receive a share in the proceeds of the litigation, is guilty of?

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The Correct Option is C

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