BEFORE THE HONOURABLE CIVIL COURT OF HYDERABAD

FILED UNDER SECTION 9 0F THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, 1908

SOHAN....................................................................... PETITIONER

V.

MOHAN...................................................................... RESPONDENT

MEMORIAL SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
2. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
3. STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
4. STATEMENT OF FACTS
5. ISSUE RAISED
6. ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
7. PRAYER
 INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

LEGISLATION:-

1. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

2. Indian Contract Act, 1872.

CASES REFERRED:-

 Seth Bikhraj Jaipuria v Union Of India, 1962 SCR (2) 880.

 Section 2(A) of the Indian Contracts Act, 1872
 Lalman Shukla v Gauri Dutt, (1913) 11 ALJ 489.
 K. P. Chowdhary vs State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors, 1966 SCR (3) 919.
 Chatturbhui Vithaldas Jasani v. Moreshwar Prashram, (1954) S. C. R. 817
 Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, [1892] EWCA Civ 1
 Har Bhajan. Lal v. Han Charan Lal , AIR 1925 All 539
 Felthouse v Bindley (1862) EWHC CP J 35.
 Luftus v Roberts, (1902) 18 T.L.R. 532).

LEGAL DATABASE:-

 https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1426&context=facpubs
 https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/essentials-of-a-valid-offer/
 https://sol.du.ac.in/mod/book/view.php?id=644&chapterid=361
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. AIR All India Reporter

2. SC Supreme Court
3. SCC Supreme Court Cases
4. SEC Section
5. V Versus
6. UOI Union Of India
 STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

The Plaintiff has approached this Hon’ble Court under Sec. 9 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908
in form of a civil application in civil court.

Sec.9- Courts to try all civil suits unless barred .- The Courts shall (subject to the
provisions herein contained) have jurisdiction to try all Suits of a civil nature excepting suits
of which their cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred.
Explanation 1.—As suit in which the right to property or to an office is contested is a suit of a
civil nature, notwithstanding that such right may depend entirely on the decision of questions
as to religious rites or ceremonies.
Explanation Il—For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether or not any fees are
attached to the office referred to in Explanation I or whether or not such office is attached to a
particular place.
 STATEMENTS OF FACTS

1. Mohan and Sohan were long standing acquaintances who regularly had business dealings
with one another. On 1st November, 2018, Mohan, from his home addressed at Hyderabad,
wrote to Sohan at his addressed at Bhillai, offering to sell him his customised Volkswagen
Polo Motor Car, (which he has long admired), for Rs. 5, 00,000 the offer to remain open until
5th November, 2018.

2. On receiving the offer on 2nd November, 2018 Sohan left Bhillai on a business trip to
Lucknow. On the 2nd of November, 2018, Mohan sold the car to Kamal and posted to Sohan
a revocation of his offer. This was delivered to Sohan’s Bhillai address on 3rd November,
2018. On 4th November, 2018, Sohan posted an acceptance of the offer from Lucknow,
addressed to Mohan at his business address, (which was the address from which Mohan
usually conducted dealings with Sohan) in Kondapur, Hyderabad. It was delivered there on
5th November, 2018 but as Mohan was absent from his office on that day, and it wasn’t read
by him until 6th November, 2018. On 7th November, 2018 Sohan returned home and read the
letter of revocation. Sohan claimed that a contract had been formed between himself and
Mohan, in that he had accepted the offer either on 4th November, 2018 through the
application of the postal, or on the 5th November, 2018 when the letter was delivered to
Mohan’s place of business. Both events took place before the offer lapsed and before
Mohan’s letter of revocation was communicated to him.
 ISSUES INVOLVED

1. WHETHER THE OFFER GIVEN BY PLAINTIFF AND ACCEPTANCE

COMMUNICATED BY THE PLAINTIFF WERE VALID?
 ARGUMENTS IN ADVANCED

1. WHETHER THE OFFER GIVEN BY PLAINTIFF AND ACCEPTANCE

COMMUNICATED BY THE PLAINTIFF WERE VALID?

It is humbly submitted by the plaintiffs that Contracts play an important role in our everyday
life ranging from insurance policies to employment contracts. In Fact, we enter into contracts
even without thinking for example while buying a movie ticket or downloading an app.
Contracts are oral or written agreements between two or more parties. Parties entering into a
contract might include individual people, companies, non-profits or government agencies.
The whole process of entering into a contract starts with an offer by one party, an acceptance
by another party, and an exchange of consideration (something of value)1.

1.1 DEFINITION OF OFFER

According to Section 2(A) of the Indian Contracts Act, 18722, When a person expresses his
willingness to another person to do or to abstain from doing something and also obtain the
consent of such expression, it is called an offer.
The person who makes an offer is called “Offerer” or “ Promiser” and the person to whom
the offer is made is called the “Offeree” or “Promisee”.
Illustration- Mr. A says to Mr. B, “Will you purchase my car for Rs.1,00,000?” In this case,
Mr. A is making an offer to Mr. B. Here A is the offeror and B is the offeree.

1.2 ESSENTIALS OF VALID OFFER

There are mainly three essential elements of a valid offer:

 The offer must be Communicated

1
Seth Bikhraj Jaipuria v Union Of India, 1962 SCR (2) 880.
2
Section 2(A) of the Indian Contracts Act, 1872.
Communication or expression of the willingness by the offerer to enter into a contract or
abstain from doing so is essential for a valid offer. Mere desire or willingness to do or not to
do something is not enough and will not constitute for an offer.
In Lalman Shukla v Gauri Dutt3 it was held that mere knowledge of an offer does not imply
acceptance by the offeree.

 Terms of the offer must be clear and definite

Knowledge of the Intention of the parties is very essential as without this the courts will not
be able to decide what the parties want to do. Therefore the terms of the offer must be clear
and definite and not vague and loose.
Example-Ram offers Shyam to sell fruits worth Rs 600/-. This is not a valid offer since what
kinds of fruits or their specific quantities are not mentioned.

 Must create a legal relationship

It is essential for a valid proposal that it must be made with the intention of creating a legal
relationship otherwise it will only be an invitation. A social invitation may not create a social
relationship. An offer must lead to a contract which creates legal obligations and legal
consequences in the case of non-performance of the contract.

 Offer may be general or specific

Offer may be general or specific: An offer may be made to definite person or persons or to
the world at large. When it is made to some specific person or persons it is called a specific
offer. When it is made to the world at large it is called a General offer. A specific offer can be
accepted only by the person to whom the offer has been made and in the manner, if any
specified in the terms of the offer4.
But a general offer can be accepted by any persons having notice of the offer by doing what
is required under the offer. The most obvious example of such an offer is where a reward is
publicity offered to any about that object, who will recover a lost object or wll give some
information, there the party claiming the reward has not to prove anything more than that he
has performed the conditions on which the reward was offered. The time table of railways is

3
Lalman Shukla v Gauri Dutt, (1913) 11 ALJ 489.
4
K. P. Chowdhary vs State Of Madhya Pradesh & Ors, 1966 SCR (3) 919.
a general proposal to run trains according to the table, which is accepted by an intending
passenger tendering the price of the ticket5.
Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.6, in this case, the Company advertised that a reward of £
100 would be given to any person who contracted influenza after having used the smoke-balls
of the Company as directed. Mrs. Carlill used the smoke-balls according to the directions of
the company. but contracted influenza. It was held, that the offer was a general one, and Mrs.
Carlill had accepted it by acting in accordance with the advertisement, and therefore, the
company could not get away from its responsibility by saying that they had not meant it
seriously. She was entitled to the reward.
In India, the principle was applied in the case of Har Bhajan. Lal v. Han Charan Lal7, in this
case offer of reward was made to any one tracing a lost boy and bringing him home.
Harbhajan Lal who knew of the reward. found out the boy and took him to the Police Station.
It was held that he was entitled to the reward.

1.3 WAYS IN WHICH AN OFFER CAN BE COMMUNICATED

 By words (whether written or oral)

The written offer can be made by letters, telegrams, E-mail, advertisements, etc. The oral
offer can be made either in person or over the telephone. It has been held in various
judgments of various courts that any form of written offer can be termed as a valid offer.

 By conduct
The offer may be communicated by making positive acts or signs to the offeree. However,
the silence of a party does not amount to an offer.
Example– When you board a taxi, you are accepting to pay the taxi fare via your conduct.

‘Implied offer’ means an offer made by conduct, an offer may also be implied from the
conduct of the parties or the circumstances of the case. This is known as an implied offer.
When one person allows the other to perform certain acts under such circumstances that
nobody would accept them without consideration it will amount to an offer by conduct and

5
Chatturbhui Vithaldas Jasani v. Moreshwar Prashram, (1954) S. C. R. 817
6
Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, [1892] EWCA Civ 1
7
Har Bhajan. Lal v. Han Charan Lal , AIR 1925 All 539
the permission of the party, who is benefitted by such performances, will amount to his
acceptance8.
Example : A bus company runs a bus on a particular route. This is an implied offer by the bus
company to take any person on the route who is prepared to pay the prescribed fare. The
acceptance of the offer is complete as soon as a passenger gets into the bus.

1.4 ACCEPTANCE

A contract comes into being from the acceptance of an offer. When the person to whom the
offer is made signifies his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted (Sec. 2(b) 9. Thus,
acceptance of the offer must be absolute and unqualified. It cannot be conditional.
When an offer is made to particular person or to a group of persons, it can be accepted only
by that person or member of the group. If it is accepted by any other persons, there is no valid
acceptance.
Example: B sold his business to P without disclosing the fact to his customers. J, who had a
running account with B, placed an order with B for supply of certain goods. The new owner
without disclosing the fact of himself having purchased the business, executed the order. J
refused to pay P for the goods because he, by entering into contract with B intended to set off
his debt against B. Held, the new owner of could not recover the price10.

1.5 ESSENTIALS OF A VALID ACCEPTANCE

Acceptance must be absolute and unqualified: Section 7 of the Contract Act requires that
the acceptance must be absolute and unqualified. It must correspond with all the terms of the
offer. Conditional acceptance is no acceptance. If there is a variation in the terms of the
acceptance, it is not an acceptance, but a counter-offer, which the proposer may or may not
accept. A counter-offer destroys the original offer. Thereafter the offeree cannot rever to the
original offer and purport to accept it.

8
https://sol.du.ac.in/mod/book/view.php?id=644&chapterid=361, Last Visited 19th June, at 8:58pm.
9
Section 2(b), Indian Contract Act, 1872.
10
https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-laws/indian-contract-act-1872-part-i/acceptance/, Last Visited 19 th
June, at 9:30pm.
Example: A offers to sell his house for a sum of Rs. 20,000 B sends his acceptance to
purchase it for a sum of Rs. 19,000. There is no acceptance. It will be taken as a new offer
from B, which may not be accepted by A.
Acceptance must be in the mode prescribed: A proposal must be accepted accroding to its
terms. If the proposal lays down a mode of acceptace, the acceptance must be according to
the mode prescribed. Therefore, if the proposer choses to require that the goods shall be
delivered at a particular place, he is not bound to accept delivery at any other place. It is not
for the acceptor to say that some other mode of acceptance which is not according to the
terms of the proposal will do as well11.If the acceptance is not given in the made prescribed,
the proposer may reject the acceptance and intimate the offeree within a reasonable time. But
if he does not inform the offeree, he is deemed to have accepted the acceptance.
Acceptance must be communicated to the offeror: Acceptance must be communicated to
the offeror to create a binding contract. Mental acceptance is no acceptance in the eyes of
law. But where the offer is to be accepted by being acted upon, no communication to the
offer will be necessary.
Silence cannot be prescribed as mode of acceptance: The offer cannot frame his offer in
such a way as to make the silence or inaction of the offeree to operate as an acceptance. In
other words, the offeror can prescribe the mode of acceptance but not the mode of rejection.
In the leading case12, F offered by letter to buy his nephew’s horse for £30 adding, “If I hear
no more about it, I shall consider the horse as mine for £30. Nephew did not give any reply,
but he told an auctioneer who was selling his horses not to sell that particular horse becaue it
was sold to his uncle. By mistake auctioneer sold the horse. Held: F had no claim against the
auctioneer because the horse had not been sold to him and the horse did not belong to F.
Silence cannot be prescribed as a mode of acceptance because if that was so the offeree will
be put to a great deal of inconvenience because he shall have to unnecessary write in clear
terms that he is not accepting the offer.
Agreement to agree in future: If the parties have failed to agree upon the terms of the
contract but have made an agreement to agree in future, there is no contract, example: An
actress was engaged by a theatrical company for a certain period. One of the terms of the
agreement was that if the party was, shown in London, she would be engaged at a salary to be
mutually agreed upon. Held, there was no contract13.

11
https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/essentials-of-a-valid-offer/, Last Visited 20 th June, at 1:30 pm.
12
Felthouse v Bindley (1862) EWHC CP J 35.
13
Luftus v Roberts, (1902) 18 T.L.R. 532).
In the light of the above mentioned case rulings and citations, it is submitted before this
honorable Court that there was a valid offer on the part of the plaintiff, which was duly and in
valid terms accepted by the plaintiffs.
PRAYER

WHEREFORE IN THE LIGHT OF FACTS STATED, ISSUES RAISED, ARGUMENTS

ADVANCED, REASONS GIVEN AND AUTHORITIES CITED, THIS HONOURABLE
COURT MAY BE PLEASED TO:

1. HOLD THAT THE OFFER GIVEN BY PLAINTIFF AND ACCEPTANCE

COMMUNICATED BY THE DEFENDANT WAS INVALID AS PER INDIAN
CONTRACT ACT, 1872.

2. HOLD THAT THE REVOCATION OF OFFER DONE BY THE DEFENDANT WAS

NOT VALID AS PER PROVISIONS OF THE INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872
THEREFORE THE CONTRACT CANNOT BE REVOKED.

3. DECLARE THAT THERE WAS BREACH OF CONTRACT ON PART OF

DEFENDANT AND THE PLAINTIFF IS ENTITLED TO GET DAMAGES OR AN
ORDER SHOULD BE PASSED AGAINST THE PLAINTIFF TO FULFIL HIS PART OF
OBLIGATION.

AND PASS ORDER, DIRECTION, OR RELIEF THAT MAY DEEM FIT IN THE
INTERESTS OF JUSTICE, FAIRNESS, EQUITY AND GOOD CONSCIENCE.

FOR WHICH, THE COUNSELS SHALL FOREVER PRAY

Counsels for the Petitioner