Contracts Notes (29/06/21)

 Parties should have a free will to enter in a contract and they should accept the liability
that they are taking up on themselves (Essentials)
 Democracy as a contractual obligation. (Theorised)
 Law interferes in contractual obligations to equalize the inequalities.
 James Stephens?
 Distinctions made by consensus ad idem.
 Section 65 of the Indian Contracts Act (Doctrine of Restitution) When an agreement is
discovered to be void, or when a contract becomes void, any person who has received
any advantage under such agreement or contract is bound to restore, it, or to make
compensation for it, to the person from whom he received it.”
Section 65 -The Indian Contract Act, 1872 – Laws and Bare Acts of India at MyNation.net

 Free Consent: Sec 13 of Indian contract act define the term “consent” as when two or more
persons are said to be in consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense. It means
they understand exactly what the other party wants to convey and give consensus upon it. If there
is no consensus ad idem, meeting of minds, on the material terms of the contract, then such
contact will be void.
1. Consent in case of minor-
Minor consent is “no consent in the eyes of law”. Consent given by minor is void ab
initio and whoever came into contract with minor on the consent given by minor is not
entitled to recover damages because legally a minor's (below the age of 18 year) Contract
is void ab initio, it can be applied whether it is sexual activity or any contract etc.
(Mahori Bibee vs Dhanordar Ghose case)
This case basically deals with a contract entered with a minor (a person who is below
the age of 18 yrs or any person who has not completed 18yrs of age legally). The
defendant was not satisfied with the verdict of the trial court therefore; he filed an
appeal in the Calcutta high court. And later he also went to Privy Council where Privy
Council also dismissed the appeal and held the judgment in favor of Dharmodas
Ghose.
 Contracts Law has special provisions to protect minors.
  Minor is incompetent in any contract and its void ab initio, if a minor enters in a contract.
Hence, in any dispute of the same circumstance, there won’t be a contract to begin with.

Case study on Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose | Law column

2. Consent by Insane or lunatic person

If a lunatic person in his sane period give Consent is valid Consent but if he give Consent in his
lunatic period, that will amount to void Consent and it is deemed to not have a consensus-ad-idem
because his mind is not in that state that he can understand things in ordinary way.