Scribd
Upload
141 views6 pages

Indian Contract Act Notes 1

The Indian Contract Act 1872 deals with general principles of contract law in India and remains in force today. It extends to the entire country except Jammu and Kashmir. The Act contains definitions of key terms like "contract" and establishes essential elements for an agreement to be considered legally binding and enforceable, such as offer, acceptance, lawful object, and free consent. It also covers special contracts and exceptions to enforceability.

Uploaded by

GiridharManiyedath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
141 views6 pages

Indian Contract Act Notes 1

The Indian Contract Act 1872 deals with general principles of contract law in India and remains in force today. It extends to the entire country except Jammu and Kashmir. The Act contains definitions of key terms like "contract" and establishes essential elements for an agreement to be considered legally binding and enforceable, such as offer, acceptance, lawful object, and free consent. It also covers special contracts and exceptions to enforceability.

Uploaded by

GiridharManiyedath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Indian Contract Act , 1872

In India, the law relating to contracts is contained in the Indian Contract Act, 1872
It came into force on the first day of September 1872. It extends to the whole of
India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Contract Act is one of the early enactments which is applicable in
India even today. The Act is based on the New York Draft Code.

The Indian Contract Act, 1872 deals with the general principles of law of
contract and some special contracts. The first six chapters of the Act deal with
general principles of contracts. These chapters deal with the different stages in
the formation of a contract, its essential elements, its performance or breach and
remedies for breach of contract.

The contracts relating to Partnership, Sale of goods, Negotiable instruments etc..


are not dealt with by the Indian Contract Act, 1872. There are separate
enactments to deal with them.

Definition of Contract
The word 'contract" has been derived from the Latin term contractum
which means “drawn together”

Section 2 (h) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines the term
'CONTRACT ' in the following words
"A contract is an agreement enforceable by law”

 A contract is an agreement made between two or more persons. The


agreement should be one enforceable through a court of law.
Thus there are two elements in a contract. They are:-
(1) An agreement
(2) Enforceability by law.
Thus a Contract = An Agreement + Enforceability by law.
Agreement
When an 'offer or proposal' made by one person is 'accepted' by another it
becomes an agreement. Thus there are two elements in an agreement. They are:
1. Offer or proposal, and
2. Acceptance.
An Agreement = Offer + Acceptance

Enforceability by law
If the agreement is enforceable through court of law, the agreement is a
contract. Only an enforceable agreement becomes contract.

Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 reads as follows


“All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent
of the parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a
lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void.”

In order to be an enforceable agreement, by virtue of section 10 of the


The Indian Contract Act 1872 Act, the following are the essential conditions.

1. Offer and Acceptance

There must be a ‘lawful offer’ and a ‘lawful acceptance’.

2. The agreement should not be a mere social agreement or domestic


agreement.
3. There should have been an Intention to Create Legal obligation
4. There must be Consensus Ad Idem

 Consensus ad idem in contract law means meeting of the minds of


all parties

5. There should be a Lawful Consideration

6. The consent of the parties to the agreement must be free and genuine.
Both parties to a contract must enter it out of their free will and
consent. Consent is said to be free , when it is not affected by reasons such as

 Coercion
 Undue influence
 Fraud
 Misrepresentation
 Mistake

7. The parties to the agreement should have the capacity to contract.

The parties, to an agreement, must be competent to contract. That is to


say
 The parties must be major
 The parties must be mentally sound

8. The object of the agreement must be lawful.

 Object means purpose


 The Act lays down that the object for which the agreement has been
entered into must not be fraudulent / illegal / immoral or opposed to
public policy.

9. The agreement must not have been expressly declared void by any law in
force in the country.

The Contract Act has ‘expressly declared’ certain agreements to be


void. Following are the cases:-
 Agreement in restraint of marriage
 Agreement in restraint of trade
 Agreement in absolute restraint of legal proceedings.
Thus, an agreement should not be expressly declared void by the Act.

10.Writing and Registration

It must be clearly understood that contracts need not necessarily be in


writing. It may be oral. It may even be implied However, Indian Contract
Act lays down that in certain special cases, for a contract to be valid, it
must only be in writing. Besides, it also needs to be registered.

Remember:
• A valid contract is enforceable by both parties
• A valid contract gives rise to rights and duties.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Practice Questions

1. The Contract Act of 1872 was enacted on


A. 25th April, 1872
B. 25th March, 1872
C. 25th August, 1872
D. None of the above
Ans: A

2. The Contract Act 1872 was enforced on


A. 1st July, 1873
B. 1st August, 1872
C. 1st September, 1872
D. None of these
Ans: C
3. How many sections does the Indian Contact Act, 1872 consist
A. 234
B. 256
C. 238
D. 200
Ans: C

4. An agreement not enforceable by law is called


A. Void agreement
B. Valid agreement
C. Voidable agreement
D. None of the above
Ans: A

5. An agreement enforceable by law is called


A. A Promise
B. Contract
C. Both (a) and (b)
D. None of the above
Ans: B

6. An agreement which is enforceable by law at the option of one or more of the


parties there to but not at the option of other or others is
A. A void contract
B. A voidable contract
C. A valid contract
D. All of the above
Ans: B
7. Name the type of contract that can be inferred from the conduct of a person or
the circumstances of case
A. Executed contract
B. Express contract
C. Void contract
D. Implied contract
Ans: D

8. An agreement to do an impossible act is


A. Valid
B. Void
C. Voidable
D. None of the above
Ans: B

9. Consent is said to be free when it is not affected by


A. Coercion
B. Undue influence
C. Fraud
D. All of the above
Ans: D

10. Which Section is the Interpretation clause of the Indian Contract Act, 1872?
A. Sec. 1
B. Sec. 3
C. Sec. 2
D. Sec. 4
Ans: C

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy