Many of the offences which fall under the head of hurt will also fall under the head of assault. A stab’s blow which fractures a limb, the flinging of boiling water over a person are assaults and are also acts which cause bodily hurt. But bodily hurt may be caused by many acts which are not assaults.
A person for example, who mixes a deleterious poison, and places it on the table of another; a person who conceals a scythe in the grass on which another is in the habit of walking; a person who digs a pit in a public path, intending that another may fall into it, may cause serious hurt, and may be justly punished for causing such hurt: but they cannot without extreme violence to language, be said to have committed assaults. We propose to designate all pain, disease and infirmity by the name of hurt.
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The differences between hurt and assault are.
1) Whoever causes bodily pain, disease or infirmity to any person is said to cause hurt, (Sec. 319) whereas whoever makes any gesture, or any preparation intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes the gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault (Sec. 351).
2) In a hurt, there must be certain act causing bodily pain, disease or infirmity to any person but, in an assault, bodily pain, disease or infirmity need not be present. Only apprehension of danger or criminal force is sufficient.
3) The gesture or any preparations of a person causing apprehension that he is going to use criminal force cannot be treated as a hurt, while the gesture or any preparations of a person causing apprehension that he is going to use criminal force is treated as assault.
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4) Hurt is punishable when it is accompanied with other offences, such as voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt etc. But assault itself is a punishable offence.
5) Beating with a fist in anger is an offence of hurt whereas shaking fists at a person, intending or knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause the person to believe that he is about to strike him is an assault.