Agreement and Contract as per Indian Contract Act 1872

Define the term "Contract" as per Indian Contract Act 1872, Explain the essential features or elements of a valid Contract.

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Ans;

Law of Contract

1. Nature of contract

Introduction

Man has highly and rightly been described as a social animal. As a social being he comes into contract with a large number of people. If his conduct towards fellow being is injurious, it must be regulated, for example , if he beats another person or takes away hi9s property, the state inn that case will protect the life and property of the victim. Therefore, to maintain law and order inn society, the state has to regulate the conduct of is people, this is done by the state by making rules and enforcing them. These rules are called law. 

“law is the body of principles recognized and applied by the state inn the administration of justice.” 

             Prof. Saldomond.

“A law is a rule of conduct imposed and enforced by the Soversgein.”

                                                                                                                                                                Prof. Austin

Business Law

Just as law is necessary to regulate the conduct of the people in society, so business law is necessary to regulate the conduct of people doing business. Business law is that branch of law which is applied to merchants or people doing business to regulate their rights and obligation arising out promise by made them.

Contract

In our daily life all of us enter into a contract at a one step or the other without realising that we are entering into a contract.

Simply, we can say that;

Any agreement which is enforceable by the law is known as contract.

Or,

Contract= Proposal + Acceptance + Enforceability

                        (P)                    (A)                        (E)

“All agreements are not contract but all contracts are agreement.”

Definitions;

“Every agreement and promise enforceable at a court of law is a contract”

                                                                                                                                Prof. Pollock.

“An agreement enforceable by the law”

                                                The Indian Contract Act adopted the definition given by Pollock.[sec 2(h)]

Agreement;  

Every promise and every set of promises, forming consideration for each other, is an agreement.(sec 2(e))

                            Agreement = Proposal + Acceptance.

                                   (A)                   (P)                (A)

Proposal or Offer;

When a person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal. There are two types of proposal;

General and Specific

When an offer is made open to all it is termed as General Offer

While an offer made to some specific person is known as Specific Offer.

Contract;

According to Indian Contract Act 1872,

“All agreements are contract if they are made by free consent of the parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration with a lawful object and not hereby expressly declared to be void.”

Elements of a valid Contract:

1.      Two or More Parties;

2. Agreement;

3. Free Consent;

4. Capacity of parties to make agreement

5. Lawful Consideration

6. Lawful and legal object;

7. Not expressly declared to be void

8. As far as possible it should be in writing.