Question

Given below are Legal Principles followed by a Factual Situation. Apply the principles followed by a factual Situation. Apply the principle to it and select the most appropriate answer for question among the four choices given.
LEGAL PRINCIPLE: If a person without any authority prevents a person to proceed in any direction and is kept confined, he commits an offence of criminal confinement.
FACTUAL SITUATION: The municipality allowed a special permit to hold a marriage party blocking a part of a public road. The marriage party blocked most of the roads and did not allow X, a passer-by, to cross the road. He brings a charge of criminal confinement against the head of the marriage party and other associates. Can X succeed?
DECIDE.

• A. X cannot succeed because the head of marriage party has got previous authority from the Municipality and his blocked part of public road.
• B. X can succeed because he has authority to walk on public road.
• C. X cannot succeed because he must have to wait upto end of marriage party.
• D. None of the above.

Answer 1

The correct option is A X cannot succeed because the head of marriage party has got previous authority from the Municipality and his blocked part of public road.

• Criminal confinement refers to knowingly and intentionally restraining another person from moving freely without the person's consent and without lawful justification. The important ingredients of criminal confinement are:
  

(1) Detention- There must be some form of willful detention i.e. intentionally confining a person to a particular area (with real or imaginary boundaries).

(2) Unlawful-It must be unlawful i.e. not allowed legally by any authority. Even if the legal authority is used in an unlawful manner it amounts to confinement.

(3) Consent-The victim must not consent to the restraint.

(4) Escape-The boundaries should be such that the person should not be able to escape that place by any means like walking away from the place.

• In the present instance, the person not only was allowed to leave the place to access another way but the actions were not beyond what was permitted by legal authority. Therefore, no criminal confinement can be established.