Chapter I OF THE COMMUNICATION, ACCEPTANCE AND REVOCATION OF PROPOSALS

The communication of proposals the acceptance of proposals, and the revocation of proposals and acceptances, respectively, are deemed to be made by any act or omission of the party proposing, accepting or revoking by which he intends to communicate such proposal, acceptance or revocation, or which has the effect of communicating it.

The communication of a proposal is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made. The communication of an acceptance is complete, as against the proposer, when it is put in a course of transmission to him, so as to be out of the power of the acceptor; as against the acceptor, when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer. The communication of a revocation is complete, as against the person who makes it, when it is put into a course of transmission to the person to whom it is made, so as to be out of the power of the person who makes it; as against the person to whom it is made, when it comes to his knowledge. Illustrations

1. (a) A proposes, by letter, to sell a house to B at a certain price. The communication of the proposal is complete when B receives the letter.
2. (b) B accepts As proposal by a letter sent by post. The communication of the acceptance is complete, as against A when the letter is posted; as against B, when the letter is received by A.
3. (c) A revokes his proposal by telegram. The revocation is complete as against A when the telegram is despatched. It is complete as against B when B receives it. B revokes his acceptance by telegram. Bs revocation is complete as against B when the telegram is despatched, and as against A when it reaches him.

A proposal may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete as against the proposer, but not afterwards. An acceptance may be revoked at any time before the communication of the acceptance is complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards. Illustration A proposes, by a letter sent by post, to sell his house to B. B accepts the proposal by a letter sent by post. A may revoke his proposal at any time before or at the moment when B posts his letter of acceptance, but not afterwards. B may revoke his acceptance at any time before or at the moment when the letter communicating it reaches A, but not afterwards. STATE AMENDMENT Uttar Pradesh.-- Amendment of section 5 of Act (9 of 1872).--In section 5 of Indian contract Act, 1872, hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as the principal Act, at the end of the first paragraph, the following explanation shall inserted, namely:-- "Explanation--Where an invitation to a proposal contains a condition that any proposal made in response to such invitation shall be kept open for a specified time and a proposal is thereupon made accepting such condition, such proposal may not be revoked within such time." [Vide Uttar Pradesh Act, 57 of 1976, s. 2]

A proposal is revoked—

1. (1) by the communication of notice of revocation by the proposer to the other party;
2. (2) by the lapse of the time prescribed in such proposal for its acceptance, or, if no time is so prescribed, by the lapse of a reasonable time, without communication of the acceptance;
3. (3) by the failure of the acceptor to fulfil a condition precedent to acceptance; or
4. (4) by the death or insanity of the proposer, if the fact of his death or insanity comes to the knowledge of the acceptor before acceptance.

In order to convert a proposal into a promise, the acceptance must—

1. (1) be absolute and unqualified;
2. (2) be expressed in some usual and reasonable manner, unless the proposal prescribes the manner in which it is to be accepted. If the proposal prescribes a manner in which it is to be accepted, and the acceptance is not made in such manner, the proposer may, within a reasonable time after the acceptance is communicated to him, insist that his proposal shall be accepted in the prescribed manner, and not otherwise; but if he fails to do so, he accepts the acceptance.

Performance of the conditions of a proposal, or the acceptance of any consideration for a reciprocal promise which may be offered with a proposal, is an acceptance of the proposal.

In so far as the proposal or acceptance of any promise is made in words, the promise is said to be express. In so far as such proposal or acceptance is made otherwise than in words, the promise is said to be implied.

All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void. Nothing herein contained shall affect any law in force in 1 India and not hereby expressly repealed by which any contract is required to be made in writing2 or in the presence of witnesses, or any law relating to the registration of documents.

Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject1 , and who is of sound mind and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject.

A person is said to be of sound mind for the purpose of making a contract, if, at the time when he makes it, he is capable of understanding it and of forming a rational judgment as to its effect upon his interests. A person who is usually of unsound mind, but occasionally of sound mind, may make a contract when he is of sound mind. A person who is usually of sound mind, but occasionally of unsound mind, may not make a contract when he is of unsound mind. Illustrations

1. (a) A patient in a lunatic asylum, who is at intervals of sound mind, may contract during those intervals.
2. (b) A sane man, who is delirious from fever or who is so drunk that he cannot understand the terms of a contract, or form a rational judgment as to its effect on his interests, cannot contract whilst such delirium or drunkenness lasts.

Two or more persons are said to consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.

Consent is said to be free when it is not caused by--

1. (1) coercion, as defined in section 15, or
2. (2) undue influence, as defined in section 16, or
3. (3) fraud, as defined in section 17, or
4. (4) misrepresentation, as defined in section 18, or
5. (5) mistake, subject to the provisions of sections 20, 21 and 22. Consent is said to be so caused when it would not have been given but for the existence of such coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake.

"Coercion" is the committing, or threatening to commit, any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or the unlawful detaining, or threatening to detain, any property, to the prejudice of any person whatever, with the intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement. Explanation.—It is immaterial whether the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is or is not in force in the place where the coercion is employed. Illustration A, on board an English ship on the high seas, causes B to enter into an agreement by an act amounting to criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code. (45 of 1860). A afterwards sues B for breach of contract at Calcutta. A has employed coercion, although his act is not an offence by the law of England, and although section 506 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) was not in force at the time when or place where the act was done.

1[16. Undue influence defined.-- (1) A contract is said to be induced by "undue influence" where the relations subsisting between the parties are such that one of the parties is in a position to dominate the will of the other and uses that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the other.

1. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing principle, a person is deemed to be in a position to dominate the will of another--
   • (a) where he holds a real or apparent authority over the other, or where he stands in a fiduciary relation to the other; or
   • (b) where he makes a contract with a person whose mental capacity is temporarily or permanently affected by reason of age, illness, or mental or bodily distress.
2. (3) Where a person who is in a position to dominate the will of another, enters into a contract with him, and the transaction appears, on the face of it or on the evidence adduced, to be unconscionable, the burden of proving that such contract was not induced by undue influence shall lie upon the person in a position to dominate the will of the other. Nothing in this sub-section shall affect the provisions of section 111 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872). Illustrations
   • (a) A having advanced money to his son, B, during his minority, upon Bs coming of age obtains, by misuse of parental influence, a bond from B for a greater amount than the sum due in respect of the advance. A employs undue influence.
   • (b) A, a man enfeebled by disease or age, is induced, by Bs influence over him as his medical attendant, to agree to pay B an unreasonable sum for his professional services, B employs undue influence.
   • (c) A, being in debt to B, the money-lender of his village, contracts a fresh loan on terms which appear to be unconscionable. It lies on B to prove that the contract was not induced by undue influence.
   • (d) A applies to a banker for a loan at a time when there is stringency in the money market. The banker declines to make the loan except at an unusually high rate of interest. A accepts the loan on these terms. This is a transaction in the ordinary course of business, and the contract is not induced by undue influence.]

"Fraud" means and includes any of the following acts committed by a party to a contract, or with his connivance, or by his agent1 , with intent to deceive another party thereto of his agent, or to induce him to enter into the contract:—

1. (1) the suggestion, as a fact, of that which is not true, by one who does not believe it to be true;
2. (2) the active concealment of a fact by one having knowledge or belief of the fact;
3. (3) a promise made without any intention of performing it;
4. (4) any other act fitted to deceive;
5. (5) any such act or omission as the law specially declares to be fraudulent. Explanation.—Mere silence as to facts likely to affect the willingness of a person to enter into a contract is not fraud, unless the circumstances of the case are such that, regard being had to them, it is the duty of the person keeping silence to speak2 , or unless his silence is, in itself, equivalent to speech. Illustrations
   • (a) A sells, by auction, to B, a horse which A knows to be unsound. A says nothing to B about the horses unsoundness. This is not fraud in A.
   • (b) B is As daughter and has just come of age. Here, the relation between the parties would make it As duty to tell B if the horse is unsound.
   • (c) B says to A—"If you do not deny it, I shall assume that the horse is sound." A says nothing. Here, As silence is equivalent to speech.
   • (d) A and B, being traders, enter upon a contract. A has private information of a change in prices which would affect Bs willingness to proceed with the contract. A is not bound to inform B.

"Misrepresentation" means and includes—

1. (1) the positive assertion, in a manner not warranted by the information of the person making it, of that which is not true, though he believes it to be true;
2. (2) any breach of duty which, without an intent to deceive, gains an advantage to the person committing it, or any one claiming under him; by misleading another to his prejudice, or to the prejudice of any one claiming under him;
3. (3) causing, however innocently, a party to an agreement, to make a mistake as to the substance of the thing which is the subject of the agreement.

When consent to an agreement is caused by coercion, 1 *** fraud or misrepresentation, the agreement is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused. A party to a contract whose consent was caused by fraud or misrepresentation, may, if he thinks fit, insist that the contract shall be performed, and that he shall be put in the position in which he would have been if the representations made had been true. Exception.—If such consent was caused by misrepresentation or by silence, fraudulent within the meaning of section 17, the contract, nevertheless, is not voidable, if the party whose consent was so caused had the means of discovering the truth with ordinary diligence. Explanation.—A fraud or misrepresentation which did not cause the consent to a contract of the party on whom such fraud was practised, or to whom such misrepresentation was made, does not render a contract voidable. Illustrations

1. (a) A, intending to deceive B, falsely represents that five hundred maunds of indigo are made annually at As factory, and thereby induces B to buy the factory. The contract is voidable at the option of B.
2. (b) A, by a misrepresentation, leads B erroneously to believe that, five hundred maunds of indigo are made annually at As factory. B examines the accounts of the factory, which show that only four hundred maunds of indigo have been made. After this B buys the factory. The contract is not voidable on account of As misrepresentation.
3. (c) A fraudulently informs B that As estate is free from incumbrance. B thereupon buys the estate. The estate is subject to a mortgage. B may either avoid the contract, or may insist on its being carried out and the mortgage debt redeemed.
4. (d) B, having discovered a vein of ore on the estate of A, adopts means to conceal, and does conceal, the existence of the ore from A. Through As ignorance B is enabled to buy the estate at an under-value. The contract is voidable at the option of A.
5. (e) A is entitled to succeed to an estate at the death of B, B dies: C, having received intelligence of Bs death, prevents the intelligence reaching A, and thus induces A to sell him his interest in the estate. The sale is voidable at the option of A.

1[19A. Power to set aside contract induced by undue influence.-- When consent to an agreement is caused by undue influence, the agreement is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused. Any such contract may be set aside either absolutely or, if the party who was entitled to avoid it has received any benefit thereunder, upon such terms and conditions as to the Court may seem just. Illustrations

1. (a) As son has forged Bs name to a promissory note. B under threat of prosecuting As son, obtains a bond from A for the amount of the forged note. If B sues on this bond, the Court may set the bond aside.
2. (b) A, a money-lender, advances Rs. 100 to B, an agriculturist, and, by undue influence, induces B to execute a bond for Rs. 200 with interest at 6 per cent. per month. The Court may set the bond aside, ordering B to repay the Rs. 100 with such interest as may seem just.]

Where both the parties to an agreement are under a mistake as to a matter of fact essential to the agreement, the agreement is void. Explanation.--An erroneous opinion as to the value of the thing which forms the subject-matter of the agreement, is not to be deemed a mistake as to a matter of fact. Illustrations

1. (a) A agrees to sell to B a specific cargo of goods supposed to be on its way from England to Bombay. It turns out that, before the day of the bargain, the ship conveying the cargo had been cast away and the goods lost. Neither party was aware of the these facts. The agreement is void.
2. (b) A agrees to buy from B a certain horse. It turns out that the horse was dead at the time of the bargain, though neither party was aware of the fact. The agreement is void.
3. (c) A, being entitled to an estate for the life of B, agrees to sell it to C. B was dead at the time of the agreement, but both parties were ignorant of the fact. The agreement is void.

A contract is not voidable because it was caused by a mistake as to any law in force in 1 India; but a mistake as to a law not in force in 1 India has the same effect as a mistake of fact. 2 * * * * * Illustration A and B make a contract grounded on the erroneous belief that a particular debt is barred by the Indian Law of Limitation; the contract is not voidable. 3 * * * * *

A contract is not voidable merely because it was caused by one of the parties to it being under a mistake as to a matter of fact.

The consideration or object of an agreement is lawful, unless— it is forbidden by law1 ; or is of such a nature that, if permitted, it would defeat the provisions of any law; or is fraudulent ; or involves or implies, injury to the person or property of another; or the Court regards it as immoral, or opposed to public policy. In each of these cases, the consideration or object of an agreement is said to be unlawful. Every agreement of which the object or consideration is unlawful is void. Illustrations

1. (a) A agrees to sell his house to B for 10,000 rupees. Here Bs promise to pay the sum of 10,000 rupees is the consideration for As promise to sell the house, and As promise to sell the house is the consideration for Bs promise to pay the 10,000 rupees. These are lawful considerations.
2. (b) A promises to pay B 1,000 rupees at the end of six months, if C, who owes that sum to B, fails to pay it. B promises to grant time to C accordingly. Here, the promise of each party is the consideration for the promise of the other party, and they are lawful considerations.
3. (c) A promises, for a certain sum paid to him by B, to make good to B the value of his ship if it is wrecked on a certain voyage. Here, As promise is the consideration for Bs payment and Bs payment is the consideration for As promise, and these are lawful considerations.
4. (d) A promises to maintain Bs child, and B promises to pay A 1,000 rupees yearly for the purpose. Here, the promise of each party is the consideration for the promise of the other party. They are lawful considerations.
5. (e) A, B and C enter into an agreement for the division among them of gains acquired or to be acquired, by them by fraud. The agreement is void, as its object is unlawful.
6. (f) A promises to obtain for B an employment in the public service and B promises to pay 1,000 rupees to A. The agreement is void, as the consideration for it is unlawful.
7. (g) A, being agent for a landed proprietor, agrees for money, without the knowledge of his principal, to obtain for B a lease of land belonging to his principal. The agreement between A and B is void. as it implies a fraud by concealment, by A, on his principal.
8. (h) A promises B to drop a prosecution which he has instituted against B for robbery, and B promises to restore the value of the things taken. The agreement is void, as its object is unlawful.
   • (i) As estate is sold for arrears of revenue under the provisions of an Act of the Legislature, by which the defaulter is prohibited from purchasing the estate. B, upon an understanding with A, becomes the purchaser, and agrees to convey the estate to A upon receiving from him the price which B has paid. The agreement is void, as it renders the transaction, in effect, a purchase by the defaulter, and would so defeat the object of the law.
9. (j) A, who is Bs mukhtar, promises to exercise his influence, as such, with B in favour of C, and C promises to pay 1,000 rupees to A. The agreement is void, because it is immoral.
10. (k) A agrees to let her daughter to hire to B for concubinage. The agreement is void, because it is immoral, though the letting may not be punishable under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).