Newest Case List 2019
Newest Case List 2019
Legal Intention
1. Balfour vs Balfour- husband promised to pay but didn’t pay- no legal consequence intended
2. Errington vs Wood- father mortgaged house-DIL-died before-FIL wife claimed house back-unilateal
contract performance= acceptance
3. Jones vs Padavatton – mother called daughter to study from us to uk- promised to give allowance
but later disagreed- contract was vague and not legally binding
4. Merritt vs Merritt – husband left wife and paid maintance out of which he has to give money for
house so that it can be hers but husband denied possession – there was consideration and legally
binding
5. Snelling vs John G Snelling- any brother resigning will forfeit his share but brother demanded the
share back- legal intention were their as seeing the facts
6. Parker vs Clark – parker agreed to live in house of Clarke but later asked to leave and pay –
language of letter shows seriousness and implied that def will live till uncle die as he was very old
7. Simpkins vs Pays – GM, GD, tenant gambled on GM name- they won- claimed from GM – was
given as it was legal intention
8. Coward vs Motor Insurance Bureau – pillion passenger was killed and demanded damages – there
was no legal contract between the driver and pillion
9. Rose & Frank Co. vs J.R.Crompton & Bros. – in the clause it was written in agreem that it not
subject to legal proceedings
10. Baird Textiles Holdings vs Marks & Spencers -not a legal contract and cont cant be implied and
estoppel not capable of creating own cause of action
Implied Terms
30. B.P. Refinery vs The President Councillors & Ratepayers of the Shire of Hastings- refinery set
up but then transferred its asset and implied that old rate would apply but not applied- was within
rights of bp and 5 condtn for implied term - 1. it must be reasonable and equitable;
2. it must be necessary to give business efficacy to the contract, so that no term will be implied if the
contract is effective without it;
3. it must be so obvious that "it goes without saying";
4. it must be capable of clear expression;
5. it must not contradict any express term of the contract.
31. The Moorcock Case – boat parked on low bed – damage - there was duty on part of co to check the
depth – negligent in checking
32. NHAI v. Gwalior Jhansi Expressway - which holds that the right to exercise 'Right of First
Refusal (ROFR)' by any Contractor would come into play only if he participates in the tender process
pursuant to notice inviting tenders from other interested parties.
Consideration
33. McArdle vs McArdle – wife paid for the repairs of the house and was agreed that her children would
her back when they get the estate, but chidren refused to pay when the got the estate – issue of
whether it was a gift or assignment – an equitable assignment without consideration is gift – as she
already built the house , the consideration was past and hence nudum pactum.
34. Chapell vs Nestle (Court of Appeal and House of Lords) – chappel made some recordings and had
copyright over it, nestle sold these record to anyone who bring 3 wrappers of their choclates – chappel
consider it as copyright violation and issue was whether it a retail sale or not – for retail sale there
should be consideration and the wrapper can be considered as a consideration and intention to sell it.
35. Lampleigh vs Braithwaite – was given death sentence – request to grant plea from king later
promised to pay money but didn’t – promise to pay in future for a event done in past is considered
good consideration.
36. L.E. Godfrey vs Parbati Paluni – mistress offered 10 rs but not given – court considered only the
part of contract considering moniey and not the immoral to puvlic policy part. And gave him mney for
the service she rendered as house worker
37. Esso Petroleum Ltd. vs Income Tax Commissioners – were giving coin for petrol buyed but itc
challenged it that it was not gift but a sale – it was a general sale as esso had legal obligation and there
was no consideration for the transfer of the coins as the coins were transferred under the separate
contract for sale of the petrol. Therefore, gift
38. Samuel Pillai vs Ananthanatha Pillai – SP gave AP father money who later died, SP sued for
recovery- AP was bound by law to give back property – consideration was the interest he took.
39. District Board of Ramnad v. D k Mahomed Ibrahim Sahib -
40. Combe vs Combe (King’s Bench Division and Court of Appeal) – hub promise wife to pay
maintance after divorce – wife didn’t claim money from husb as he was no in a good fin pos- later she
claimed – in return of hub promise wife refrain to apply in court this forms no consideration
41. P. Balamba v. K Krishnayya
Privity of Contract
42. Dunlop Pneumatic Tyres vs Selfridge – contract to sell nbot at a lower price and was said to convey
it further but the 3rd party didn’t listened and was sued by 1 party , no privity exist and person cant do
two pos at one time i.e of agent and principal.
43. Essar Oil v. Hindustan Shipyard – cont b/w hind and ongc and essar was appointed as sub
contractor by hindus and there was breach but ongc cnat sue essar directly as privity of contract
44. M.C.Chacko vs State Bank of Travancore, Trivandrum – kc chako took loan and died bank wants
to take money from his son mc chaco – in will whther a ‘chargr’ was created – kc didn’t intended to
create charge on mc
Promissory Estoppel
45. Central London Property Trust vs High Trees House - estoppel to be applicable if a promise was
made which was intended to create legal relations and which, to the knowledge of the person making
the promise, was going to be acted on by the person to whom it was made and which was in fact so
acted on.
46. Motilal Padampat Sugar Mills vs State of Uttar Pradesh – govt 1t grants exemption later grant
concession which co. accepts afterwards revokes everything Waiver means abandonment of a right
either express or implied from conduct, but the basic element is that it must be “an intentional act
with knowledge
]
47. Hughes vs Metropolitan Railways - If a promise is implied in negotiations and one party relies on
that promise then it is inequitable to allow the other party to act as though the promise does not exist.
48. Manuelsons Hotels v State of Kerala -
Capacity to Contract
49. Leslie vs Shell (minor) – minor fraudulently misrepresented her age – he spent the money –
restitution stops when repayment begins – ordering him to restore money wouyld be like enforing a
avoid contract- until money is traceable, it had to be restituted but if not traceable the no restitution
50. Mohori Bibi vs Dharmodas Ghose (minor) – the agent knew that he was entering with a minor-
cont with minor void ab initio if the party didn’t knew about it – in this case the oarty knew about the
contract
51. Mathai Mathai v. Joseph Mary (minor) -
52. Manik Chand v. Ramachandra (minor)
53. Dadasaheb Dasrathrao v. Bai Nahani
54. Proform Sports Management vs Proactive Sports Management (minor) – rooney case – entered
into contract with proform but after expiration contracted with proactive – proform sued rooney –
English case – contract with minor voidable
55. Monosseh Jacob Monosseh vs Shapurji Hormusji Harver -
56. Imperial loan Co. vs Stone – a person signed a prom note as surety but later found to be lunatic –
two things need to be proved to plead insanity as defend – 1 st incapable and 2nd that the other party
knew his condition.
57. Nilima Ghosh vs Harjeet Kaur & Ors. – same ratio as previous
58. S.Basavaraj vs V.N. Adilakshmamma – amount had to be adjusted during final transaction - plead
that he was drunk when he signed the contract – was a self inducted drunker and was in a capacity to
contract to contract when he signed the document
59. Charanjit Singh vs Chattaranjan Pal & Others -
60. Chacko v. Mahadevan – executed some sale deed in favour of Mahadevan but later found that he
was given involuntary intoxication – res ispa loquitour (things speak for themselves) as nobody will
sell prop of 54000 in 1000 and also medical reports is evident of it.
61. Dunhill v. Burgin – a car accident claim- when pleaded before court ques. Arose that burgin lacked
litigation capacity.
Coercion
62. Chief Engineer General vs Sai Suraj Construction - Coercion is a question of fact which depends
on the circumstances of each case, a mere probability is insufficient to support a plea of coercion.
63. Bansraj Das vs Secretary of State – father convicted and for the fine to be realized, state attachd a
property which had his son as joint owner and because of the pressure of the govt. the son had to pay
the property to the state – later he demanded back his property saying that he gave it under coercion
from the govt. – it was duress as it was under threat and mere use of actual force is not necessary.
64. P. Rengaswami Pillai vs Srirangam Municipal Council – for retail trade licence the vendors took
retail license and municipality charged for it – later they sued municipality to coercing them to give
the fees and they are not entitled to and are doing illegal act- the money/consent should be given
under threat and in this case it was considered an obligation by the parties to give the fees
65. CTN Cash and Carry v Gallaher (economic duress) – cigratte were delivered at wrong address and
was stolen from there before delivery at the right place – idk why in the jud. wrote that it was found
that although the def was sole seller of that cigarttes but they had equal bargaining power therefore no
eco duress.
66. Sara International v Rizhao Steel Holding Group – deficient iron content 61% 60.59% - Three
requirements to constitute economic duress: (a) Pressure which is illegitimate; (b) Its effect on the
victim i.e. that the pressure must be a significant cause inducing the Claimant to enter into the
contract; (c) Lack of reasonable alternative i.e. that the practical effect of the pressure was that there is
compulsion on, or a lack of practical choice for, the victim.
This principle, however, will not apply where the bargaining power of the contracting parties is
equal or almost equal.
Undue Influence
67. Sita Devi vs Prithi Chand & Ors. – the lady was pardanashin and uneducated and signed a gift deed
thinking she is signing a will –
68. Poosathurai v Kannapa Chettiar - cont for cotton bales – buyer refused delivery as the seller didn’t
gave invoice as asked by buyer - The judges held that was no reason to doubt the bales. The
defendants were in fact trying to avoid the purchase because they wished to avoid the falling market.-
The goods were under the control of the plaintiffs and they were willing to deliver.Actual physical
possession of goods is not necessary to satisfy tender.
69. Mohanlal v. Kashiram
70. Lingo Bhimrao Naik vs Dattatraya Shripad Jamadagni
71. Subhash Chandra Das Mushib vs Ganga Prasad Das Mushib - that the court trying a case of
undue influence under Section 16 of the Contract Act, 1872 must consider two things to start with,
namely, (1) are the relations between the donor and the donee such that the donee is in a position to
dominate the will of the donor, and (2) has the donee used that position to obtain an unfair advantage
over the donor?
72. Ladli Prasad Jaiswal v Karnal Distillery Company – HUF family – laldli karta – was dismissed by
conspiracy - A vague or general plea can never serve this purpose; the party pleading must therefore
be required to plead the precise nature of the influence exercised, the manner of use of the influence,
and the unfair advantage obtained by the other.
73. Parbhu v Puttu and Others -[In present case, plaintiff was living under the authority of his adoptive
mother such that he was dependent on her for maintenance and education to the extent that she was in
a position to dominate his will. Secondly, in threatening plaintiff, she used her position of dominance
to obtain an advantage aversive to plaintiff’s rights; plaintiff wouldn’t have executed the gift deed but
for the threatening attitude, pressure and admonitions from defendant, relatives and other well wishers
of family. Thirdly, plaintiff wasn’t aware of his legal rights nor was he allowed to consult his natural
father; he didn’t act with open and free mind and with the knowledge that the gift deeds which ere by
themselves invalid could be validated only by his signature. Therefore, the deed is liable to be set
aside.]
74. Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge- husband took loan and mortagae the house said wife to sign It,
later unable to pay loan and and bank approached wife -
The House of Lords held that for banks to have a valid security they must ensure that their customers
have independent legal advice if they are in a couple where the loan will, based on constructive or
actual knowledge (either suffices), be used solely for the benefit of one person-Lord Nicholls held that
if the banks ensured that the wife had had independent advice, they could not be responsible for that
advice being defective.
75. Dai-chi Karkaria vs ONGC (Economic Duress)
Standard form of Contract
76. Central Inland Water Transport Corp. vs Brojo Nath Ganguly(unconscionable bargain)- co. shut
down and employed tranfers to another co. from which they were kicked out after some time – the
parties were not on equal footing and unequal bargaining power – adhesion cont (take it or leave it)
77. M/s Interglobe Aviation Ltd v. N. Satchidanand – indigo wala case – jurisdiction and adhesion
contract
Misrepresentation
85. Esso Petroleum Co Ltd v Mardon – petrolpump – not matched the profit that were told – later
renegotiated the term even after loss but still no -profit – mardon stop paying rent and esso filed suit-
skill. Esso had much experience and expertise at their disposal as they were in a better position to
ascertain the much likely throughput with all the data available; and it is no doubt that in present case,
estimate made by Esso reasonably had a great influence over Mardon who had negligible experience
as compared to Esso. Thereafter, if in preparing the forecast, they negligently commit ‘fatal
error’, relying upon which Mardon entered into contract, they were liable for breach of collateral
warranty. Mardon wasn’t held to be compensated for “loss of bargain” as he was given no bargain
that the throughput would be 200,000 gallons. Rather he was to be compensated for losses he had
suffered as a result of relying to his detriment on the projection made by Esso.
86. With vs O’Flanagan – medical practice worth 2000 but actually not worth the amount as Flanagan
became ill but he didn’t disclose this fact to the buyer - Mr With could rescind either because there
was a duty to point out the change in circumstance or because the representation continued till the
point when the contract was signed.
87. Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd – Hedley was a adv agency and they wanted to
check the position of their buyer , so they contacted there bank to check there creditworthiness in
return bank replied that they were in a good position and but bank owes no responsibility for the
information – later the buyer defaulted and court held that there exist a special relation bw the party in
which onme party knew that the information they provide would be relied upon by the other party byt
in this case the bank explicitily told that they owed no care
88. Derry v Peeke- a bought share in b co. as B said that they had perm to use steam engines which they
have applied for but not yet received – knew they would be unable to follow through with their
representations.
For an action under misrep to stand, it had to be shown that the party knew that they are
misrepresenting – in this case the co. was ina honest belief that tthey will get license – therefore, no
misrep
Mistake
89. Smith v Hughes – s deliverd oats but h refused to take it as he demanded good old oats but s denies
the word old – held that the word old not used and s was under impression that he was contracting for
good oats - contract. If the buyer has full opportunity of inspecting the products contracted for and
thereupon form his judgment, and if he relies only on his own judgment, the rule caveat
emptor applies.
90. Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd – level hired bell and snelling and after there work in the co. was given
retirremnt and extra money was given when they rerired – later L found that they made transaction for
their personal gain and defrauded clients – l want the money back - B and S were under no legal
obligation to reveal their secret transactions to Lever. Hence, their concealment didn’t render the
contract voidable. Neither did they induce Lever to pay them compensation (howsoever innocently)
nor did they actively conceal it from them - “Mistake as to the quality of thing contracted for doesn’t
affect assent unless it is the mistake of both parties and is as to the existence of some quality which
makes the thing essentially different from the thing as it was believed to be.”
91. Chwee Kin Keong vs Digilandmall(snapping up- to buy quickly) – printer was of 3854 but by
mistake of the co. was put up on site for 66 on the site and buyer placed order for 100 printers but
later the mistake was disc and they cancelled the contract -the buyer had constructive knowledge
about the mistake by the seller – there -
92. Shogun Finance vs Hudson – a fraudster purchased a car by impersonating mr. patel and sold it to h
who bought it in good faith – SF came to know the mistake and want car back from H - no contract
will be formed when a person accepting an offer believes on reasonable grounds that he is accepting
an offer from someone other than the person by whom it has in fact been made,was mistake on the
fundamental object of the contract- HP agreement are consumer credit agreement, wherein the
identity of the person is fundamental to the whole transaction because it is essential to the checking of
the credit rating of the applicant borrower b) The company was not willing to do business with any
person, rather it wanted to do business only with the person whose credit worthiness they had checked
93. Raffles v Wichelhaus – cotton bales on ship Peerless – there were two ships named peerless and due
to mistake of the name of ship the buyer was unable to take the delivery of the ship- no consensus
among the parties therefore no contract (dissent – the fundamental object was sale of contract and not
sailing of goods, was immaterial on which ship, the goods arrives - Intention is of no avail UNLESS
stated at the time of the contract.
94. Dhulipudi Namayya v Union of India - if a contractor abandons the ongoing construction work, the
measure of damages is the cost incurred in completing the work.
95. Kalyanpur Lime Works Ltd vs State Of Bihar - the Government represented to A that it had the
right to forfeit the lease on Bond and grant a fresh lease to him. A entered into a contract in
consequence. But as a result of a Privy Council decision the Government’s title became restricted and
it was incapable of making out the title, which it stated it had at the time of the contract. The Supreme
Court held that in the circumstances the contract was not void on the ground of mistake and
Government must perform that part of the agreement, which it was possible to perform. (promisoory
estopple me there is no question of law and if contract gets void due to some law which renders the
power of the govt nullified thenm it cant be pleaded under promissory estoppel)
Non-est Factum
96. Saunders v Anglia Building Society – gallie signed a sale deed thinking it to be a gift deed , when
his nephew said to sign it as her spectacles were broken - the true principle of non est factum is that a
mistake as essential to the nature of the transaction is within the doctrine but a mistake as to its terms
are not. A document should be held to be void (as opposed to voidable) only when the element of
consent to it is totally lacking, i.e., when the transaction which the document purports to effect is
essentially different in substance or in kind from the transaction intended
97. Gallie v Lee – was in court of appeal (same as above)
98. Prem Singh v Birbal – the party didn’t sued even under 3 years when he attained majiroty nor under
12 years therefore barred by limitation
Consent
99. Tarsem Singh v Sukhminder Singh – def intended to sell the land in terms of kanal and buyer
intended to buy in terms of bigha – there was no consensus ad idem and it can be legitimately said
that the agreement was ;discovered to be void The words discovered to be void;, therefore,
comprehend a situation in which the parties were suffering from a mistake of fact from the very
beginning but had not realised, at the time of entering into the agreement or signing of the document,
that they were suffering from any such mistake and had, therefore, acted bona fide on such agreement.
Uncertainty (Misc)
110. Pawan Kumar Dutt v Shakuntala Devi -
111. Hillas v Arcos timber sold and contract to enter into a subsequent contract – court allowed
the only thing to be nego was price and nothing else – ratio – a cont to negotiate is enforceable
and
Wagering Agreements
112. Gherulal Parekh v Mahadeodas – 2 huf come to contract for a wagering contract – held that
contract for contracting to get into a e=wagering agreement is nit voidl
113. Subhash Kumar Manwani v State of MP – state allowed betting and manwani won but court
held that no matters who enters into wagering contract it is void
Contingent Contracts
114. HPA International v Bhagwandas Fateh Chand Daswani and Others - “When an agreement is
entered into subject to ratification by others not party to contract, a concluded contract is not arrived
at and such ratification is held to be condition precedent for coming into force of a concluded
contract.”
115. Gian Chand v Gopala and Others – entered into purchase of property which later discovered
was under land acquisition act – wants back earnest money - Contingent contracts to do or not to do
anything if an uncertain future event does not happen, can be enforced when the happening of that
event becomes impossible, and not before - As the clause pertaining to the refund of earnest money in
case of notification for Land Acquisition was expressly mentioned in the contract, and contingent
contracts are valid appellant is entitled to the refund of the earnest money.
116. Smt. Deokabai v Uttam – to register in the name of uttam, perm of competent authority is
required - This is clearly a contingent term. It is clear that both parties recognised the need for the
appellant to find another house
117. Energy Watchdog v Central Electricity Regulatory Commission – coal price increased -
118. Om Builders v Anil Chinubhai Kilachand
119. Steel Authority of India v Tycoon Traders – foreest reserve area
120. Dhanrajamal Gobindram vs Shamji Kalidas And Co. – force majeure clause but usual word
hai to court would give meaning to it
Frustration
140. Ms. Gwalior Rayon Silk Manufacturing (Wvg.) Company Limited v Shri Andavar and
Company – eucalyptus hybrid and wood to be sold but wood not available- not frustration as parties
should know as it was reasonable and negligent on part of party
141. Naihati Jute Mills v. Khyaliram Jagannath -
142. Mugneeram Bangur and Co. v Sardar Gurbachan Singh - nature of the contract it was for
development of lands to make them fit for residential occupation by construction of roads etc. the
circumstances like the prevalence of war at the time of entering into contract, difficulty in procuring
materials because of scarcity, no commencement of work even on the date of requisition and the terms
which provided for no time specification as well as the temporal nature ofrequisition made the courts
believe that requisition did not affect the fundamental basis of the bargain
143. Satyabrata Ghose v Mugneeram Bangur
Decretal case
148. Chaganlal Shrilal v Gopilal Choturam - The amount due in this present case for costs, interest
and principal as awarded by the decree however constitue only one debt and sections 59 to 61 do not
apply. But the general principal applied to a single debt is that the payments should be applied in the
first instance to interest and then to the principal the balance only so far as those payments exceed the
interest due.
Recession (S.63)
166. MS Shoes East Ltd. V Munak Chemicals Ltd – plaintiff had to send gssp to Bangladesh and he
contracted with def who manuf gssp but he didn’t supplied it on stipulated date – plain sued def – was
suit barred by limitation- the promisee on refusal of promise to perform has a right to elect to put an
end to contract and accept later perf
167. All India Power Engineer v Sasan Power Ltd.-
168. Jagad Bandhu Chatterjee v Nilima Rani and Others
Section 68
175. Nash v Inman – tailor supplied 13 waistcoats to minor, student refused to pay – no necessity as the
def had to prove that it is necessary (roti kapda makan ) but he was unable to prove necessary
176. P.E.R.M Annamalai Chetty v Satyavadivel Muthuswami – mother and agent signed there names
on behalf of minor without minor knowing on a prom note
Section 69
177. Govindram Gordhandas Seksaria v The State of Gondal – def solad certain mills without
paying overdue taxes, was sued by minor who now has to pay yaxes – should plaintiff be
reimbursed – interest is main criteria to get reimbursed – the plaintiff shows that he has interest in
the property as he paid the taxes himself to save the property
178. Musammat Munni Bibi alias Ambika v Trilokinath - person making a payment to recover it is
that he should really believe and honestly believe that he must make the payment in his own
interest. -
179. Boja Sellappa Reddy v Vridhachala Reddy -The Plaintiff paid revenue due in respect of certain
land which stood registered in his name, but which belonged to the defendant and was in the latter’s
possession when the money was paid. The plaintiff files a suit for recovery. - Where land is
assessed for revenue the owner thereof cannot by virtue of his ownership alone be held as
compellable to pay the revenue.
180. Mothooranath Chuttopadhyaya v Kristokumar Ghose – property divided and had some
mortgage on it and the def so save his property had to pay the mortagge on the whole property and
later demand the money - plaintiff was interested in the payment of this money, because, he says, if
he had not paid it his land would have been sold, and it was a debt which the defendant was bound
by law to pay, because the mortgagee had legal means to recover it against him.
Section 70
181. Mulamchand v State of Madhya Pradesh – mulam got rights to collect forest produce for 3 yrs –
after collecting for 1 yr, an act came which prohibited the collection of forest produce – mulam
demanded 10000 back which he deposited to collect the produce - that the Contract entered into by
him was void because Art. 299 had not been complied with. - However the refund of Rs. 10,000
claimed by the appellant could not be allowed as he did not satisfy th conditions of s. 70 of the
Indian Contract Act. The perso who seeks restitution has a duty to account to the defendant for
what he has received in the transaction from which his right to restitution arises. - he was unable to
provide evidence of how much benefit he got in one yr therefore no money back
182. UOI v Sitaram Jaiswal – plai supplied mac in tyre to def which he wrongfully rejected after
considerable time – the seller offered to restore the goods but def disagreed - The three. ingredients
to support the cause of action under section 70 of the Indian Contract Act are: First, the goods are
to be delivered lawfully or anything has to be done fo another person lawfully. Second, the thing
done. or the goods delivered is so, done or delivered intending to do so gratuitously Third, the
person to whom the goods are delivered the benefit thereof -
183. Sri Sri Gajapati Kistna v P Srinivasa Charlu -
184. State of WB v BK Mondal and sons – contractor did more work than stipulated in the contract on
request of an officer – demands money for extra work - . 3 criterions--> provide goods, provide
them lawfully, there must be an acceptance / usuage (voluntary) to be a ground for unjust
enrichment - Since the officers making such requests were unauthorized by the government to do
so, hence, there was neither any agreement between the parties nor the rule of Promissory Estoppel
could be invoked
185. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd vs Tata Communication Ltd – contract bw mtnl and tata and
clause saying that liquidated damages in case of breach will be 12 per of purchase value- breach
mtnl deducted more amount than stipulated – mtnl pleaded quantum meruit – claim of quantum
meruit cant stand due to existence of a contract as QM is an obligation created other than a contract
– therefore money over 12 per should be refunded
Section 72
186. Mahabir Kishore and Others v State of MP – govt charged 7.5 per on liquor sale – court passed
that it is illegal to collect 7.5 per but govt still collected it – mahabir filed for the 7.5 per he paid –
govt plead mistake as they had no knowledge of such - A tax paid under mistake of law is
refundable under Section 72 of the Indian Contract Act. The term ‘mistake’ in S. 72 comprised
within its scope a mistake of fact and that under that section a party is entitled to recover money
paid by mistake or under coercion, if it is established that the payment, even though it be of tax, has
been made by the party labouring under a mistake of Law, the party receiving the money is bound
to repay or return it, though it might have been paid voluntarily
187. Sales Tax Officer v Kanhaiya Lal – plaintiff claim refund of sales tax levied on forward contract
when it was declared illegal to collect such tax - If mistake of law has led to the formation of a
contract, S.21 enacts that that contract is not for that reason voidable. If money is paid under that
contract, it cannot be said that that money was paid under “mistake of law” for it was paid under a
valid contract, and had it not been paid it could have been enforced. Payment, “by mistake” in S.72
refers to a payment which wasn’t legally due and which couldn’t have been enforced; mistake is in
thinking that money paid was due when in fact it was not due. – atr 21 contract made under mistake
of law – art 72 cont performed under mistake of law.
188. Sri Shiba Prasad Singh v Maharaja Srish Chandra Nandi - where there was not sufficient
evidence to show why the lessee under a mining lease had made over-payments of royalties to the
lessor, but the money was paid under the mistaken belief that it was legally due, that was sufficient
to bring the case within s 72 of the Indian Contract Act and to entitle the lessee to recover by
adjustment or set off the sum overpaid.
189. Mafatlal Industries v. Union of India -
Section 74
204. Fateh Chand v Balkishan Das -
205. Maula Bux v UOI - The appellant entered into a contract with the respondent to supply some
goods and deposited a certain amount as security for due performance of the contract. It was
stipulated that the amounts were to stand forfeited in case the appellant neglected to perform his part
of the contract. – def made default in supply – resp rescinded and forfeited the amount – forf of
earnest money not under 74 but forf of money which he has already paid to the party complaining of
a breach of contract, the undertaking is in the nature of a penalty and, s. 74 applied
206. M/s Kailash Nath Associates v Delhi Development Authority and Another
207. Steel Authority of India Ltd v Gupta Brother Steel Tubes Ltd
208. ONGC v Saw Pipes - Oil and Natural Gas / had placed an order on Saw Pipes for supply of
equipment for off shore exploration, to be procured to European manuf – delayed due to strike In
Europe – time was essence of contract - ONGC granted extension of time, but it invoked the clause
for recovery of Liquidated Damages by withholding the amount from the payment to the supplier. –
ongc deducted amount from contract and saw said it was a breach – saw plead force
majeure( unforeseeable event took place) - as regards Liquidated Damages and penalties, the
primary conclusion of the court appears to be that Liquidated Damages should be regarded as
reasonable compensation, while penalties should not. Further, it also appears to have concluded in
case of penalty damages will have to be proved.
209. V Venkataramaiah Pillai and Another v PV Subramania Pillai -
210. Anand Construction Works v State of Bihar -