Write a note on Free Consent Sec 13 to 22

Q.Free Consent Sec 13 to 22
Free consent is an important ingredient of a contract.
As per Sec. 13 an agreement is valid only when it is the result of free consent of all the
parties, consenting to the same thing in the same sense.
As per Sec 14: consent is said to be free only when it is not caused by
1. Coercion
2. Undue influence
3. Fraud
4. Mis-representation
5. Mistake
1. COERCION – Sec 15:
Coercion is committing, or threatening to comorit any act forbidden by the Indian Penal
Code, or the unlawful detaining or threatening to detain any property to the prejudice of
any person whatsoever, which the intention of causing any person to enter into an
agreement.
2. UNDUE INFUENCE – Sec 16:
Sec 16 (1) undue influence as “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
position to dominate the will of the other and uses the position to obtain an unfair
advantage over the other”.
Sec 16 (2): A person is deemed to be in a position to dominate the will of another:
1. Where he holds a real or apparent authority over the other of
2. Where he stands in a fiduciary authority over the other or
3. Where he makes a contract with a person whose mental capacity is affected.
3. FRAUD – Sec 17:
Sec 17 defines fraud as “fraud means and includes any of the following acts committed
by (i) a party to a contract or (ii) with his connivance or (iii) by his agent, with intent to
deceive another party, or to induce him to enter into the contract.
1) A false statement intertially made is a fraud.
2) Active concealment of a fact by one having a knowledge or belief of the facts:
3) A Promise made without any intention of performing it.
4) Any other act done to deceive.
5) Any other act or omission as the law specially declared to be fraudulent.
4. MIS REPRESENTATION Sec 18:
Consent given under misrepresentation of facts is no consent at all.
ACC to Sec 18, Misrepresentation means and includes:
1. Positive assertions in a manner not warranted by the act of the person making it.
2. Any breach of duty which without an intent to deceive, gains an advertisement to
the person committing it by misleading another to his prejudice or any one
claiming under him.
3. Causing however innocently another party to make a mistake as to the substance
of a subject matter of the agreement.
5. MISTAKE – Sec 20 to 21:
An erroneous belief about something is called ‘mistake’. A agreement enforced under a
mistake consent is not face.
Mistakes are of 2 kinds.
1. Mistake of facts Sec 20.
2. Mistake of Law Sec 21
Mistake of facts: Where both the parties to an agreement are under a mistake as to a
matter of fact essential to an agreement, the agreement is void.
1. Bilateral Mistake: Bilateral or mutual mistake as to an existing fact essential to
the agreement tenders the agreement void. Under bilateral mistake, both parties
are under a mistake as to a matter of fact.
2. Unilateral Mistake: 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 (Sec 22 ) In
unilateral mistake only one party is under a mistake as to matter of fact., the
agreement is not rendered to be void.
3. Mistake as to identity of a person: Generally, mistake arises as to the identity of
a person. Identity of a person will render a contractvoidable where such identity
is essential to the contract. If the identity of the person is immaterial, mistake will
not avoid a contract, Mistake as to subject matter: when both the parties believe in
existence of certain state of thing as a subject matter, which is reality do not exist,
the contract shall be held to be void.
4. Mistake of law: They are of 2 types (Sec 21) Sec 21 of the act provides that a
contract is not voidable because it is caused by a mistake as to any law in force in
India, but a mistake as to a law not in force in India has the same effect as a
mistake of fact.
• Mistake of law in force in India: Mistake on a point of Indian Law does not
affect the contract.
• Mistake of law not enforce in India: In treated as a mistake of fact.