Definition
Wrongful detention of goods.
Unlawful retention of another's goods.
Etymology & Origin
From Old French 'detenu' (detained), past participle of 'detenir', from Latin 'detinere' (to hold back, keep back), formed from 'de-' (away, off) + 'tenere' (to hold). The Latin form 'detinuit' ('he detained') was the name of the original writ. Detinue is thus the 'holding back' of goods that ought to be returned — the wrongful retention of another's property after the right to possess it has ended.
Full Legal Analysis
Detinue: The Wrongful Retention of Goods
Detinue is the tort committed when a person, who initially came into possession of goods lawfully, wrongfully detains them after being lawfully required to return them. The essence of the wrong is not the original taking — which was proper — but the subsequent refusal to surrender the goods when the right to possess them has determined. The bailee who will not return, the borrower who will not give back, the finder who will not hand over: each may be liable in detinue.
Distinguished from Conversion and Trespass
Detinue occupies a narrow space between trespass to goods and conversion. Trespass involves an unlawful taking from the start. Conversion involves an intentional dealing inconsistent with the owner's right, such as selling or destroying the goods. Detinue involves a lawful acquisition of possession followed by a wrongful refusal to return. Historically, the action of detinue had a distinctive feature: the defendant could avoid liability by returning the goods (since the wrong was only the detention), whereas in conversion the defendant was fixed with the value regardless.
The Modern Position in India
In modern Indian tort practice, as in the English common law that has been received and absorbed, the separate action of detinue has largely been absorbed into the broader tort of conversion. A wrongful detention that persists after demand is now commonly pleaded as conversion, with the same remedies — recovery of the goods or their full value in damages — available to the claimant. The historical distinction survives mainly in the conceptual analysis of the wrong: detinue focuses on the refusal to return, conversion on the assertion of dominion. Indian courts have recognised both forms of liability, drawing on common-law principles where no statutory framework governs.
“He who receives another's goods by consent acts lawfully; he who refuses to surrender them when the consent has run its course acts wrongly. Detinue is the law's answer to the man who keeps what he no longer has any right to hold.”
