46 CA. Ashish K Agrawal Chapter 1.
Chapter 1.5
Free Consent
❖ CONSENT
➢ Section 10
“All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of the parties competent to
contract……………..”
Definition of ‘consent’
Consent • Two or more persons are said to consent when they agree upon the
(Section13) same thing in the same sense.
➢ Consent involves ‘consensus ad-idem’, which means that there is agreement on same thing in same
sense. Both the persons should be thinking of the same thing and in the same sense.
➢ When there is no consent, there is no contract.
❖ FREE CONSENT
➢ Section 14
“Consent is said to be free when it is not caused by –
(1) coercion, as defined in section 15, or
(2) undue influence, as defined in section 16, or
(3) fraud, as defined in section 17, or
(4) misrepresentation, as defined in section 18, or
(5) mistake, subject to the provisions of section 20,21, and 22.
Consent is said to be so caused when it would not have been given but for the existence of such
coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, or mistake.”
➢ If a person contends that the consent given by him is not ‘free consent’, he has to prove that his
consent was forcibly obtained or the truth was not disclosed to him. Had it not been the case, he
Chapter 1.5 Contracts Act 1872- Free Consent 47
would not have entered into the contract.
➢ In case of coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, the contract is VOIDABLE at the
option of the person whose consent was so obtained.[Section 19 & 19A]
➢ If consent is caused by ‘bilateral mistake’, there is no consent at all. Hence, the agreement is VOID.
[Section 20]
COERCION
Definition
Coercion Section 15 “Coercion is the committing, or threatening to commit, any act forbidden
by the Indian Penal Code or the unlawful detaining of or threatening to
detain, any property, to the prejudice of any person whatever, with the
intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement.”
➢ Coercion means forcibly obtaining the consent of the other party by doing (or threatening to do)
something which is forbidden by Indian Penal Code.
➢ It also includes illegal detaining (or threatening to detain) some property of the other party, to his
disadvantage.
➢ In simple words, it can be said that consent is said to be obtained under coercion if one party does
or threatens to do some illegal act and under such threat the other party gives his consent.
Example :-
1) A threatens to kill B, if he doesn’t sell his house to him. B agrees. In this case consent has been
obtained under coercion.
2) A kidnaps B’s son and asks him to give his house on rent. B gives his house on rent to A. In this
case consent has been obtained under coercion.
➢ Threat to commit suicide also amounts to coercion.
➢ The threat may also be directed to a stranger to a contract, not necessarily to the other party to the
contract.
Example –
A threatens to kill Z (a passerby) if B doesn’t sell his mobile to him. B agrees to sell his mobile to
A. In this case even though the threat is directed to a stranger, the consent is influenced by
coercion.
