UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 2 : Questions on eggshell skull rule and India-Italy relations (Week 50)

QUESTION 2

What is the ‘eggshell skull’ rule? What Supreme Court has said with reference to this rule?

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— India and Italy are ancient civilizations with relations dating back 2,000 years. Italian coastal cities were significant trading posts along the spice route.

— After independence, India and Italy established political relations in 1947. Since then, both countries have had a frequent exchange of visits at the political and governmental levels, including multiple visits by heads of state.

— India’s bilateral trade with Italy totaled USD 13.229 billion in 2021-22, up more than 50% from the previous year. Italy is India’s fourth largest trade partner in the EU.

— Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) between India and Italy was signed in November 2023 during the visit of External Affairs Minister to Italy.

— MMPA will further strengthen our peoples’ connect and mobility.

— The Agreement, in particular, will facilitate the mobility of employed, self-employed, skilled workers, students, academics, researchers, business people, and artists in accordance with the identified needs of respective labour markets, thereby creating job opportunities for Indian workers and professionals.

— This alliance will also help to stabilise the Indo-Pacific region. A safe and open Indo-Pacific region is required for future commerce and connectivity development.

— The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was inaugurated during the G20 conference in Delhi, intends to provide a new route between Asia and Europe.

Conclusion:

— Italy already boasts one of the largest Indian communities in the European Union, which has been bolstered by an increasing number of students and workers. The accord will establish a framework for improving transportation.

— According to the agreement, Indian students who want to gain first professional experience after completing academic/vocational training in Italy may be given temporary residency in Italy for up to 12 months.

— According to government data, a total of 5,897 Indian students were in Italy on student visas in 2022. In 2019, there were 4791 Indian students in Italy, 3211 in 2020, and 3008 in Italy by 2021.

(Source: Italy to allow Indian students to stay for another 12 months after completion of degree, Italian Ambassador writes: India, a partner in an uncertain world by Vincenzo De Luca)

Points to Ponder

IMEC

Trade between India and Italy

Indo-Pacific region

Blue-Raman project

Related Previous Year Questions

Indian diaspora has scaled new heights in the West. Describe its economic and political benefits for India. (2023)

‘Indian diaspora has a decisive role to play in the politics and economy of America and European Countries’. Comment with examples. (2020)

QUESTION 2: What is the ‘eggshell skull’ rule? What Supreme Court has said with reference to this rule?

Introduction:

— The eggshell skull rule is a common law principle applied in civil litigation.

— Essentially, the offender is accountable for all harms that may be exacerbated as a result of the wounded person’s unique characteristics, which the offender may be unaware of.

— Simply put, the defendant would be held liable for damage sustained by a person when he struck him on the head, even if the victim possessed a very delicate skull or a ‘eggshell’ skull.

— A person who has an eggshell skull would be more severely impacted by an act, which an otherwise “normal person” would be able to withstand,” the SC said in its judgment of the case.

— The rule is applied for claiming an enhanced compensation — for damage that is more than what could have been ordinarily anticipated to be caused by the defendant.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

What was the case?

— In 2005, one Jyoti Devi went in to have her appendix removed in a hospital in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district. Though the surgery was as planned, her abdominal pain would not subside. What followed was a four-year ordeal and several hospital visits. Ultimately, doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science, Chandigarh, found that “a 2.5 cm foreign body (needle)” was left behind in her abdomen, which needed to be surgically removed.

— When Jyoti moved the district consumer forum for compensation, she was awarded Rs 5 lakhs for medical negligence by the hospital in Mandi. However, when the hospital appealed against the order, the state consumer forum reduced the compensation to Rs 1 lakh and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) enhanced it to Rs 2 lakh.

Supreme Court rule

— The Supreme Court has restored the district forum’s decision on compensation and said that the other two courts had awarded a “paltry” and “unjust” sum even while they applied the eggshell skull rule.

— The SC held that the eggshell skull rule would not apply in Jyoti’s case since the facts of the case do not indicate that she had a “pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition, because of which the victim may have suffered ‘unusual damage’.”

(Source: SC rejects application of ‘eggshell skull’ rule in a case: What is this legal principle? by Ajoy Sinha Karpuram)

Points to Ponder

Origin of the eggshell skull rule

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)

Related Previous Year Questions

The most significant achievement of modern law in India is the constitutionalisation of environmental problems by the Supreme Court.” Discuss this statement with the help of relevant case laws. (2022)

Whether the Supreme Court Judgment (July 2018) can settle the political tussle between the Lt. Governor and elected government of Delhi? Examine. (2018)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 49)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 48)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 48)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 49)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 49)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 50)

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