Free consent of Parties

1. AARIFA KHAN
B.COM 1ST YEAR
I.K. GIRLS COLLEGE
FREE CONSENT OF
PARTIES

2. FREE CONSENT OF PARTIES

3. CONTENT
WHAT IS CONSENT?
WHAT IS CONSENT?
WHAT IS FREE CONSENT?
WHAT IS FREE CONSENT?
IMPORTANCE OF FREE CONSENT
IMPORTANCE OF FREE CONSENT
WHEN IS A CONSENT CONSIDERED AS NOT FREE ?
WHEN IS A CONSENT CONSIDERED AS NOT FREE ?

4. WHAT IS CONSENT ?
In the contract Act , the definition of consent is given under
Section 13, which states that:
“ it is when two or more persons agree upon the same thing
and in the same sense”.
So the two people must agree to something in the same sense as
well .
Lets take an example : A agrees to sell his car to B. A owns
three car and want to sell Maruti car but B wants to buy his
Honda car . Here A and B have not agreed upon the same
thing in the same sense . Hence their is no consent.

5. WHAT IS FREE CONSENT ?
 Free consent refers to an agreement when both parties knowingly and
 willingly enter into a contract of their own will. This includes agreeing to
 all of its terms and conditions and a mutual level of understanding of the
 subject matter in the contract . For a contract to be enforceable and
 sound, this consensus must have been gained free of any forms of
 coercion, cheating, undue influence, fraud or pressure. In addition, the
 contract must be free of mistakes or misrepresentation by both parties. If
 consent is gained by any of these means the contract is considered void
 and unenforceable by law.

6. IMPORTANCE OF FREE CONSENT
1. Free consent is the
foundation of valid
contract. Without free
consent any agreement
can not bear the status of
valid contract.
1. Free consent is the
foundation of valid
contract. Without free
consent any agreement
can not bear the status of
valid contract.
2. Without free consent any
agreement does not amount
the valid contract and such
contract cannot be enforced
by the court of law.
2. Without free consent any
agreement does not amount
the valid contract and such
contract cannot be enforced
by the court of law.
3. To protect the parties of
the contract in case they are
compelled to enter in to a
contract under fraud,
coercion, undue influence, or
misrepresentation.
3. To protect the parties of
the contract in case they are
compelled to enter in to a
contract under fraud,
coercion, undue influence, or
misrepresentation.
4. Finally, free consent helps
to create the favorable legal
environment to growth and
to develop the business
realm etc.
4. Finally, free consent helps
to create the favorable legal
environment to growth and
to develop the business
realm etc.
5. Free consent binds the
parties to fulfill their
obligations and makes sure
to resume the rights.
5. Free consent binds the
parties to fulfill their
obligations and makes sure
to resume the rights.

7. WHEN IS A CONSENT CONSIDERED AS NOT FREE ?
Section 14 describes the cases when consent is not free.
It lays down that consent is not free if it is caused by coercion , undue influence , fraud ,
misrepresentation , mistake etc. If the consent is not free , the agreement is voidable at the option of
the party whose consent was not free.

8.  COERCION –Coercion is defined in sec.15 of Indian
Contract Act . It refers to the act of persuading or
convincing someone to do something using force or
other unethical means. When you threaten someone
harm if they do not sign a contract
 UNDUE INFLUENCE - Undue influence is defined in sec.
16 of Indian Contract Act . It means compelling a person to
enter into an agreement by moral or mental threat . In case
of undue influence , ordinarily , there is no penal action ;
only the agreement will be voidable at the option of the
aggrieved party .

9.  FRAUD - Fraud" means and includes any of the following acts
committed by a party to a contract, or with his connivance, or
by his agents , with intent to deceive another party thereto or
his agent, or to induce him to enter into the contract. For
example, X knows that Mr Z is a cheater. Still, X suggests to Y
that Mr Z is an honest man and you can do business with him.
Here, X has committed fraud.
 Misrepresentation – Misrepresentation means getting into a
contract with a person or a company on false grounds by
making statements that are not in accordance with the facts is
known as misrepresentation. Suppose A and B enter into a
contract, wherein A sells his father's car to B saying that it was
purchased from Korea, for Rs. 5 lakhs. Here, A himself has no
idea that the car was purchased from Germany. In this case,
the statement made by A was untrue but innocent.