THE INDIAN

CONTRACT ACT,1872

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 THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT,1872
:AN INTRODUCTION
• The Indian Contract Act,1872 is originally inspired by English Common
Law.
• It was applicable to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir from first
day of September i.e. on1st sept,1872.
• Initially Sales Of Goods Act and Indian Partnership Act were the part of
the Indian Contract Act,1872
• Later on, Sales Of Goods Act was being separated in 1930 and in 1932,
Indian Partnership Act was also being separated from ICA,1872.
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 Meaning of contract
• CONTRACT = AGREEMENT + ENFORCEABILITY BY LAW

• AGREEMENT = OFFER + ACCEPTANCE

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Every agreement is not a contract

Every contract is an agreement

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 CONTRACT

Enforceable by
Agreement
Law

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 Definition of contract
Sec.2 (h) of “ The Indian Contract Act as, ‘ an agreement enforceable by law’.
Every contract , thus , combines two elements (i) agreement and (ii)obligation .
It creates rights and obligations between the parties to the contract, which are
correlative. In case a party refuses to honour a contracted obligation it will give
right of action to the other party.

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 Types of offer
Presented By
Mrs.Vanchan Tripathi
Asst. Professor
MRS VANCHAN TRIPATHI
IMS UC Campus7
14-09-2019
 Types of offer
General
& special
offer

Types Expressed
Cross
& Implied
offer of offer offer

Positive &
Negative
offer
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 Expressed & Implied offer
• Expressed offer -An offer made in words, written or spoken, is called as an
expressed offer.
Example: Mr. X says to Y, I am willing to purchase your car for Rupees 5000.
• Implied offer-An offer, implied from the conduct of the parties or from the
circumstances of the case, is known as implied offer.
Example: A bus plying on a definite route(i.e. from Delhi to Agra)offer to
carry passengers for a fare on a stated route. It is an implied offer.

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 Specific & General offer
• Special offer- When offer is made to a definite person, it is known as
specific offer and such offer can be accepted by only that specific person.
Example: A offers to sell his T.V. to B for Rs. 12,000. This is specific offer
made to B. No one else can accept this offer except B.
• General offer- It is an offer made to the public in general and hence anyone
can accept and do the desired act.
Example: A advertisement in a newspaper that he would give Rs. 1,000 to
anyone who finds and returns his lost bag.
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 Cross offer
Two offer which are similar in all respects made by two parties to each other, in
ignorance of each other’s offer are known as cross offers.
Example: A, by letter offers to sell his car to B for Rs. 50,000. B, by letter
offers A to buy the same car for Rs. 50,000. It is a cross offer.

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 Positive & Negative offer
• A person may express his willingness to do something or to abstain from
doing something.
Example: it may be an offer to construct a wall to provide privacy or not to
construct a wall so that a free passage of light and air may not be obstructed.

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 ACCEPTANCE:Meaning
• As per section 2(b) of The Indian Contract Act,1872, “A proposal is said to
be accepted when the person to whom the proposal is made signifies his
assent thereto. A proposal when accepted becomes a promise.”

ESSENTIALS OF ACCEPTANCE (KINDLY REFER CLASS NOTES )

 Communication of acceptance
As against the proposer, when it is put in course of transmission him so as to be out
of the power of acceptor to withdraw the same; and as against the acceptor, when it
comes to the knowledge of proposer.
When a proposal is accepted by a letter sent by the post the communication of
acceptance will be complete as against the proposer when the letter of acceptance is
posted and as against acceptor when the letter reaches the proposer.
Example : B accepts A’s proposal and send his acceptance by post on 14th. The
communication of acceptance as against A is complete on 14th,i.e.when the letter is
posted and as B it will be complete when the letter reaches to A. Suppose this letter of
acceptance was duly posted but was delayed in post or lost in transit , even then A will
be bound by B’ acceptance.
 REVOCATION OF ACCEPTANCE
• An acceptance can be revoked at any time before its communication is
complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards.
• Once the letter of acceptance reaches the proposer , the acceptance can’t be
revoked. Thus, acceptance can be revoked before the letter of acceptance
reaches the proposer.
Example: the letter of acceptance posted by B on 14th reaches A on 16th then B
may revoke his acceptance at any time before the letter of acceptances reaches
A, i.e. 16th but not afterwards.
 Thank You

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