Question

Pick the most inappropriate statement from the following:

• A. It is for the defendant to plead and prove justification and not for the plaintiff to show that the defendant’s conduct was unreasonable in cases of trespass to person.
• B. Damage is not an essential element and need not be proved by the plaintiff in cases of trespass to person.
• C. The intention as well as the act makes an assault and the actual contact is necessary.
• D. If the wrongful act falls short of actual physical contact but causes a reasonable apprehension of immediate violence, it will be an assault.

Hint:

Assault focuses on apprehension of harm; battery focuses on actual harmful contact.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding assault.
In tort law, assault does not require physical contact — only an act creating reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful contact.
Step 2: Analysis of options.
(a) Correct — justification is a defence to be proven by the defendant.
(b) Correct — trespass to person is actionable per se.
(c) Incorrect — actual contact is not required; that is battery, not assault.
(d) Correct — apprehension without contact suffices for assault.
Step 3: Conclusion.
Since (c) misstates the law, it is the most inappropriate. \[ \boxed{(c)} \]