Void

Contract for
Uncertainty
SECTION 29
Section 29

Agreements void for uncertainty. — Agreements, the

meaning of which is not certain, or capable of being
made certain, are void.
Need of Certainty
Guthing v. Lynn: The buyer of a horse, who was the plaintiff in this case,
promised the seller that they would pay £5 more for the horse, or buy another
horse from the seller if the horse was lucky. The horse was not in the condition
that the plaintiff believed, and a dispute arose between the parties as to whether the
seller was owed the conditional payment mentioned by the buyer.
The court held that the condition to pay £5 extra for the horse if it was lucky, was
deemed to be too vague to create a binding contract between the parties. The
words contained in an agreement must be clear so that the parties can be sure of
the terms upon they are contracting. As a result of this, the only part of the
transaction that was sufficient for the court was the purchase of the horse for the
price of £63 and that was most of the legal agreement between the parties.
Example of uncertain agreements
•Agreement to agree or negotiate : May v. Butcher ltd. R :
The mode, manner and payment will be decided by the
party's time to time.
•Undefined Property: Surendra Kumar Gupta v. Narayan
Ram.
 Concept of Partial uncertainty: Capable of being made certain
Nicolene Limited v. Simmond: Nicolene Ltd ordered 3,000 tonnes of steel bars from
Simmonds. The two parties had never done business before. The written agreement between the
parties provided that the ‘usual conditions of acceptance’ applied. There were no ‘usual
conditions of acceptance’. After Simmonds failed to perform delivery of the ordered steel bars,
Nicolene sued for breach of contract. Simmonds argued that there was no agreement, because
the contract was vague and uncertain, because there were not any ‘usual conditions of
acceptance’ on which the contract could be formed.
Judgement: The contract did not fail for uncertainty or vagueness. The phrase ‘usual
conditions of acceptance’ was a meaningless phrase because there were no usual conditions of
acceptance but could be severed from the rest of the agreement.
 Section 30 " Wagering Agreements"
Agreements by way of wager are void; and no suit shall be brought for recovering
anything alleged to be won on any wager, or entrusted to any person to abide the
result of any game or other uncertain event on which any wager is made.
-This section shall not be deemed to render unlawful a subscription, or contribution,
or agreement to subscribe or contribute, made or entered into for or towards any plate,
prize or sum of money, of the value or amount of five hundred rupees or upwards, to
be awarded to the winner or winners of any horse-race.
294-A of IPC
Definition of Wager " Carlill v. Corbolalic
smoke ball Company"
J. Hawkins
"Wagering contract is one by which two person professing to
hold opposite view touching the issue of future uncertain
event, mutually agree that dependent upon the determination
of that event, one shall pay some money to other"
 Essentials of wagering contract
•Uncertain Event
•Mutual Chances of gain or loss (Babasaheb v. Rajaram)
•Neither party have control over event
•No other interest in the event/ No collateral right or
interest
Effect : Void
Exception : Horse Race
Crossword Competition
Lottery
 M.P. Lottery (Niyantran Tatha Kar) Adhiniyam, 1973.
5. We have looked into the provisions of the above
Adhiniyam of 1973 in which we find that the lottery has
been defined in Sec. 2(a) thus:
Subhash " 'lottery' means a scheme for distribution of prizes by lot
Kumar or chance to those persons participating in the chances of a
prize by purchasing tickets."
Manwani vs
Section 3 of the Adhiniyam provides that except as
State Of M.P. provided by the Act, all lotteries other than those organised
And Ors. on by Central and State Government would be unlawful. The
other provisions of the Adhiniyam lay down procedure for
22 July, 1999 obtaining license for holding private lotteries and levy of
tax on such lotteries. We are also made aware of a central
legislation on the subject of lottery i.e.
Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.
 Sports Betting in India (Game of Chance or Game of Skill)
KR Lakshamanan (Dr) v. State of Tamil Nadu, the court tried to lay
down some points which would help in distinguishing between the two.
A game of skill is based on the knowledge, training, experience,
adroitness of the player while a game of chance depends merely upon the
luck. Therefore, we can classify horse racing which includes the skill of
the jockey as not a game of mere chance. On the other hand, if we enter a
contract where we decide that the horses would run on their own and
whosevers horse stops first, would be declared as the loser, it is the game
of mere chance. No skill per se is included here and it depends merely
upon the horse’s will.
Casinos in Goa
Gambling
•According to Seventh Schedule Entry 34 List II
Gambling is a state subject, states have a right to
make their own laws on it.
•Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976
Dream11
A PIL was filed in Varun Gumber v. Union Territory
of Chandigarh whereas the petitioner claimed that it
was a game of chance and wanted to proceed with a
criminal case against the company as he had lost his
money due to the fantasy game. The respondents
showcased that how the whole game revolves around the
skill of the player. The player had to choose a team
keeping in mind the performance of the players.
Moreover he has a chance to substitute a player if he
feels that the player is not playing well within a
stipulated course of time. Thus the game includes whole
technique and skills of the participant.
Provision in IT Act (2023 way to amend)
67, 67A, and 67B deal with the discretion to make laws on the subject of online gaming.

Public Gambling Act, 1867:

◦ The act primarily addresses physical gambling activities. However, its relevance extends to online gaming,
providing a legal framework for regulation.

Information Technology Act, 2000:

◦ The Information Technology Act of 2000 plays a pivotal role in regulating online activities, including
gaming. Section 66 of the IT Act deals with computer-related offenses, providing a legal basis for addressing
cyber crimes associated with online gaming.
◦ Sections 67, 67A, and 67B of the IT Act empower authorities to formulate laws related to online gaming,
recognizing the need for discretion in regulating activities that involve elements of chance, gambling, and betting.
Tax Deduction on online gaming
Section 115BBJ – Charging Section

Winnings from any online game shall be charged to tax under this section of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The rate of taxon such income shall be 30% excluding surcharge and cess.

The section was applicable from 1st April, 2023, i.e., any income from online games from the said date
shall be taxable under this section.

Section 194BA – TDS on Winnings from Online Games

Any person responsible for paying to any person any income by way of winnings from any online
game during the financial year shall deduct income-tax on the net winnings in his user account under
the said section of Income Tax Act, 1961.