This document discusses various aspects of consent required for a valid contract. It defines consent as agreement between parties on the same terms. Free consent is important, and is absent in cases of coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake. Examples are provided to illustrate contracts voidable due to lack of free consent. Mistake of fact, where parties misunderstand each other, can invalidate a contract, unlike mistake of law.

1. Submitted to : MS Neetu Mahendru
Submitted by : Tanvir Bhatti (GBS-1162)
Bhupinder (GBS-1164)

2. CONSENT
• According to sec.13’two or more persons are said to
consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same
sense’ .
• It means that there is no contract if the parties to contract
have not agreed upon the same thing in the same sense.
• Thus consent involves identity of minds in respect of the
subject matter of the contract.

3. FREE CONSENT
To make a contract valid, not only the consent is
necessary but the consent should also be free.
According to sec.14 consent is said to be free when it is
not caused by any of the following :
Coercion
Undue influence
Fraud
Misrepresentation
Mistake

4. Example-
A has two cars, one is blue and another is red. A wants to
sell his blue car. B who knows of only A’s red car, offers
to purchase A’s car for 20000. A accepts the offer
thinking that it is for his blue car.

5. Answer
 This is no consent because both the parties are not
understanding the same thing in same sense.

6. COERCION
• Coercion means forcing a person to entre into a
contract under some pressure or by giving some
threats.
• It is not necessary that person ,who is compelling
other person to entre into contract should be party to
contract

7. EXAMPLE
 A threatens to kill B’s son if he does not lend rs 1 lakh
to C without interest charges. B agrees to lend the
amount to C . The agreement is entered into under
coercion

8. CASE STUDY
Ranganayakamma vs.alwar setty (1889)
 A Hindu widow of 13 years was forced to adopt a boy
under threat that her husbands dead body would not
be removed for cremation until she consented .she
adopted a boy.

9. Verdict of the case
 Held ,the consent was not free but was induced by
coercion. Consequently, the adoption was set aside.

10. UNDER INFLUENCE
 The term means dominating the will of the other
person to obtain an unfair advantage over the other .
 This happens when a special kind of relationship exits
between the parties such that one party is in a
position to exercise undue influence over the other.
 foe example : the relationship between master and
servant, trustee and beneficiary

11. CASE STUDY
Mannu Singh vs. umadat pandey
A spiritual guru induced his devotee to gift him the
whole of his property in return of a promise of
salvation of the devotee.

12. Verdict of the case
 The consent was given, considered under undue
influence .so the contract is voidable at option of
devotee

13. FRAUD
 The term fraud means false representation of facts
intentionally has been termed as fraud

14. CASE STUDY
 Horsefall vs. Thomas
T bought a pistol from H . The pistol had a hole in it
which was plugged with metal by H .T had the
opportunity to examine but he did not examine the
pistol .when he used it ,it burst into pieces .T refused
to pay on the ground that H had played fraud

15. Verdict of the case
 T did not examine the gun carefully so he was not
deceived by the metal plug and was bound to pay .H
did not commit any fraud

16. MERE SILENCE IS NOT A FRAUD
 According to sec 17 mere silence without any legal duty
to speak will not amount to fraud .

17. Example
A ,who is about to sell a horse to B says . The horse is a
beauty and worth rs 1000. B buys the horse for rs 800.
afterwards B learns that A had bought it for rs 400 and
B cannot get more than rs 300 for it . What is B’s
remedy ?

18. solution
 B does not have any remedy against A, as the
statement made by A is a mere expression of an
opinion and cannot be taken as fraud.

19. MISREPRESENTATION
Misrepresentation is a false statement which the person
making it honestly believes to be true or which he does
not know to be false.

20. CASE STUDY
Mohan lal vs. shri Ganga ji cotton mill
Here A, heard from somebody that C would become
director of the company and informed B also. B on
faith of A purchased share of that company. But later
on C did not become director.

21. solution
 It was case of innocent misrepresentation by A .

22. MISTAKE
Mistake happens when the parties do not agree on the
same thing in the same sense because of some
misunderstanding.

23. Types of mistake
• Mistake of law
• Mistake of fact

24. Mistake of law
 A mistake as to Indian law will not make the contract
voidable . This is because every person in this country
is expected to know the law of the country. Ignorance
of law is no excuse.

25. Example
 A and B make a contract on this erroneous belief that
a particular debt is barred by the Indian law of
limitation.

26. Solution
 The contract cannot be avoided on the ground of
mistake because each one of them is expected to know
the law of his own country.

27. Mistake of fact
 It is the case where both the parties understand the
contract in different ways . In the total of absence of
consent ,there is no agreement at all .

28. Example
 A intended to sell his car .B intending to offer rs 3000
for it ,by mistake offer rs 5000 . A accept the offer.

29. Solution
 The contract cannot be avoided by B on the ground of
mistake because both the parties understand the
contract in different ways and sense.

30. QUIZ
1. forcing a person to entre
into a contract under
some pressure or by
giving some threat.
2. Dominating the will of
the other person to
obtain an unfair
advantage over the other.

31. Answer
1. coercion
2. Undue influence

32. 1. A false representation of
fact made willfully with a
view to deceive the other
party.
2. A false representation of
fact made honestly and
not with the intention to
deceive the other party.

33. Answer
1. Fraud
2.Misrepresentation