Free Consent

Presented by-
Shubham Shree
7
 Free Consent
•According to Sec 10 of the Indian Contract Act, one of the
essentials of a valid contract is “Free Consent”
• According to Section 13 two or more persons are said to consent
when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.
• In English law, this is called ‘consensus – ad – idem’
• This means that there should be perfect identity of mind regarding
the subject matter of the contract.
• According to Sec 14, consent is said to be free when it is not caused
by:
1.Coercion
2.Undue influence
3.Fraud
4.Misrepresentation
5.Mistake
 Illustration
• A has two cars, one blue and other red. He wants to sell his
blue car. B who knows of only A’s red car, offer to purchase
A’s car for Rs. 20000. A accept the offer thinking that it is for
his blue car. This is no consent because both the parties are not
understanding the same things in the same sense.
 COERCION

Section 15 defines coercion- coercion is

committing or threatening to commit 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 with the intention of causing any
person to enter into an agreement .
Effects of Coercion
• When the consent of a party to an agreement is
obtained by coercion, the contract becomes voidable
at the option of the party, whose consent is so
obtained. The burden of proving that the consent was
obtained through coercion shall be upon the party
who wants to set aside the contract.
Examples of Effects of Coercion
• A executes a transfer bond for the house under fear
of assault. It will be a contract voidable at the option
of A since his consent was obtained by coercion.
 UNDUE INFLUENCE

• Undue influence is the improper use of any power

possessed over the mind of the contracting party.
•Sometimes a party is compelled to enter into a contract
against his will as a result of unfair persuasion by the other
party.
•Section 16 defines undue influence as follows. 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 a position to dominate the will of the other
and uses that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the
other.
 Relationships that can be affected by
undue influence
• Doctor and patient
• Lawyer and client
• Guardian and ward
• Trustee and beneficiary
• Teacher and student
 FRAUD

• According to Sec 17, Fraud means misleading a person

deliberately to cause in him a wrong understanding so as to
obtain that’s person’s consent for a contract.
• E.g. M falsely tells R that the car he was offering to sell was
once owned by Sachin Tendulkar. This is a fraud against R
committed to obtain his consent to purchase the car.
• A says to B his coat is made of pure wool ,though he knows
that it is untrue. B purchases the coat believing A’s statement
to be true, It is a fraud by A and therefore contract is voidable
at B’s option.
 Misrepresentation

Section 18 defines it-

Misrepresentation is when a party (person) asserts
something which is not true though he believes it to
be true. In other words misrepresentation is a false
representation made innocently.
 Babul vs. R.A. Singh
M was a marriage broker who gave Y
the photograph of a man and told him that
the man was young and rich. Y conveyed
the same to his daughter who agreed for
the proposal. But on the day of marriage it
was discovered that the man was the age
of 60. There is fraud between M and Y.
whereas there is misrepresentation
between Y and his daughter.
 Mistake

• Where both the parties to an agreement are under a mistake as

to a matter of fact essential to the agreement, the agreement is
void.
Example
• A agrees to buy from B a certain horse. It turns out that the
horse was dead at the time of the bargain, though neither party
was aware of the fact. The agreement is void.