 The netting factor is that we have taken issues on the webinars on different spectrums of law. It only shows the versatility of man to take the issues. And I was just sharing with her that the previous webinar which we had, it's already touched 5000 views on the YouTube. So it's a tremendous hit on the part of evidence. And today when we requested her that kindly give the insights on the fundamental of contracts, which people would always like to understand, not only as a lawyer, student or judicial officer, but in common life also, what is the offer, acceptance and what the contract would be. And there are large principles within the itself, which one wants to understand. In fact, there are certain sections which itself becomes a dominant factor when the judgment is adjudicated. It's just simplicity like section 23 as to whether if you have even given a consent, but it is contrary to law how to go about it, not to stop so much so so. But without taking much time, I would request Justice Roshan Dalvi who has been kind enough to always share her knowledge and especially during these testing times it has always been enriching to learn that. All those who have been watching us live on our YouTube channel and Facebook, coupled with this platform. Welcome you all and those who have missed our previous webinars including that by Justice Roshan Dalvi just like, subscribe, share to the YouTube channel. You can look into all those sessions and your comments would help to us to understand what you have liked and where we should go forward with the further webinars. Over to you man. Good evening friends and because thank you for calling me. I, it's a very fine topic, an old and ancient topic of contracts. One of the oldest legislations, which has survived the ravages of time is the Indian contract act 1872. So it's a 150 year old document. And it runs like a poetry. Now it is used by lawyers, by business persons and by litigants in so many ways. When we don't even understand, when we don't even think that we have used the Indian contract act. It begins with a simple proposal and it goes on to various different kinds of contracts. How there would be differences in the contracts, what happens when there is a breach of the contract etc etc. So I would like if you give me a minute, I'll share with you my presentation and then I can answer your questions. So just a minute please. Okay, I hope you've got it. The fundamentals of the contracts. It begins with how we have an agreement. A contract is an agreement. But an agreement is not a contract. An agreement is a promise. The offer that is the proposal of the promissor and the acceptance makes a whole promise. So the promise is an accepted proposal. Now therefore every agreement is not a contract but every contract is an agreement. And an agreement to become a contract must be enforceable by law. Because for every contract, when there is an agreement, it may not be enforceable by law. You may make an agreement to meet for dinner. But if I don't come for dinner, you cannot sue me. Because it is not enforceable by law. The agreement which is enforceable by law becomes a contract under section 2. And the agreement which is not enforceable by law remains void. It is not a contract. Now how do you create this contract? First is the intention to create the contract. And it may be only an intention, it is not a contract. But the intention to create legal relations, to create legal obligations and legal consequences would make a legal contract. Which is enforceable by law. And for which you can come to court if there is a breach. Now this intention to contract is not to regulate social relations. So as I gave you the example of coming for dinner when there are many others. Where there are social relations, there are agreements. These agreements may be morally upheld. But it cannot be legally enforced. There may be domestic obligations. Like an obligation of a wife or an obligation of a parent. But they don't make a contract in law. So unless there is another law which will enforce those domestic obligations. The mere obligations will not be enforceable by law. Now when does an agreement become a contract? Under section 10 of the contract act. When it is for a consideration. Every contract has to have some consideration. Consideration may be past, present or future. Consideration may be in cash or in kind. Consideration may also be in forbearance. That is you don't do a certain thing. Every little thing makes a consideration. But if you call upon a party to do a particular thing without giving that party anything back in return. It is without consideration. And if that party backs out of that agreement. That contract cannot be enforced for one top consideration. Consideration is the backbone of a contract. Once a contract is made. Now when an agreement becomes a contract. For consideration. By whom does it become? It becomes by parties competent to contract. Who are parties competent to contract? Under section 11, a minor is not competent to contract. So a minor cannot sign a check. A minor cannot enforce anything in his cooperative society or in his building. A minor cannot demand anything. A minor's contract of marriage also. The minor cannot avoid. When he becomes a man she generally becomes a major. She can avoid the contract which becomes voidable. So these are parties competent to contract. And aside from a minor and insolvent. A person of unsound mind etc. With whom we are not very much concerned under section 12 cannot contract. All other parties can contract. They don't have to be only citizens. They can be even foreigners. And they can contract with us. And that is how we have international contracts or bilateral contracts. Now these parties must contract with their free consent. It is like democracy and law. There must be consent. You cannot enforce it unless the other party has consented. And what is consent if it is not free? So it should be free consent. Consent without any of the other persons cast upon the consent which makes it voidable which we will come to presently. Then this must be for a lawful object. Because if it is for an unlawful object it cannot be enforced by law. Because it will be an illegal contract. Now what is not expressly declared to be void can be a lawful contract. Therefore the contract act sets out what would be voidable and what would be voidable. Voidable is to avoid the contract by the party who is agreed by the contract because of certain circumstances. Voidability is if so factored there in the contract by which the contract is voided. And therefore the legislation lays down which are the kinds of contracts which are void. So we will go to each of these examples of voidable and void contracts. But before that what are the contents of the contract? An offer and an acceptance. When the offer is accepted it becomes a promise. And a promise which is enforced by law is a contract. So which are the types of offers that we are dealing with? One is oral. So often business persons just pick up the phone and talk on the phone. So often persons grant loans etc. orally and say how they will be returned. And these contracts are not only enforceable but they are actually followed by the parties because much will turn upon the relationships of the parties if they are not followed. Then there are of course written contracts which lawyers would always advise their clients to have so that it becomes a written document which then excludes the oral agreement. So nothing more than a written contract would then be seen. And these are generally the contracts which we have in our day to day life. For example construction contracts, contracts of tenancies, license, contracts of sale of properties, mortgages, visas etc. So all these are written. And under the transfer of property acts any contract of a property more than 100 rupees as to be in writing must be signed by both the parties. And certain of these contracts must be witnessed by two witnesses which is of course separate and not under the contract act. Then under the contract act we have also an implied contract. So when there are parties in a relationship which can be enforced by law one party says there was a contract and another party says no there was no contract because let us say there was no consideration or because the acceptance was not unconditional or whatever. The court would have to see that the parties by that act impliedly thought and acted that there was a contract. So by just the mere agreement that there was a contract whatever type and then showing by evidence that it could be implied because these are our acts, contracts have been implied and they have been enforced by law. Then quite often we have mixed contracts which is partly oral and partly written. So when there is a written part of the contract if there is a oral contract which took place at that time which is not contrary to the written contract it can be merged into a written contract. But if there is anything contrary to the written contract under section 91 of the evidence act it would stand excluded. Now these offers are of different types. General offers and particular offers. As you would expect from the words general offers are made to the population at large you can say to the world at large. Anyone can come and accept that offer. There are many such offers today in business contracts. So that if there is a tender, if there is a quotation, if there is a property parties would say welcome and we want your offers. So they make an invitation to offer which is general and then it is followed by an offer and an extra fee. If it is between two or more parties particularly and separately it becomes a particular contract. It may be bilateral because there are agreement between two parties. It may be tri-partite or it may even be multi-part. When there are confirming parties in a document and all those parties get bound by that written contract. So the legal consequences of all are the same. If there is an offer and an acceptance which makes a binding contract. So we go to the first stage. The first stage is the invitation to offer. Now these invitation to offer do not make a contract. But it is an invitation to make a contract. When there are goods in a shop, a shopkeeper is not liable to sell the goods. The shopkeeper may say I don't want to sell it to you. It is only an invitation to offer so that when a person comes into the shop and makes an offer to buy and shows the consideration the shop owner will then accept the offer and sell. And when both parties have done that and the job and invoice the contract is complete. And if the goods have to be sold the goods will be sold by mere delivery as under the sale of goods act. And afterwards if the goods have to be sold and not at that time it will have to be there after delivered under a delivery challenge. So the invoice and the delivery challenge would make a contract not the display of goods. Then there is a shopkeeper's catalog quite often. We have even in a hotel we have a catalog. We have a menu. It doesn't make any contract. It doesn't change the menu. But when after reading the menu, after reading the catalog somebody makes an offer pursuant to the catalog and it is accepted it becomes a contract. Quotation of prices or terms. When there are quotations made these are invitations and it is always written at the end of the quotation but it will not form a contract therefore it is then followed by a work order. So if there are change of circumstances the quotation gets changed but once there is a work order it becomes a binding contract. And the statement of the lowest price is generally not given that this will be the lowest price but the MRP on a particular goods which is sold under the law relating to essential commodities would make it the contract at that price afterwards. The mere statement of an intention that somebody would say I want to sell my property puts up a board on his land. This property is for sale. It doesn't mean that he will sell it to the person who wants to buy it. He may not sell it. It is merely a statement of his intention to sell which he may or may not agree upon when he gets an offer. And once he accepts the offer it becomes a binding contract and then there is a written agreement. Now general words to excite offers means as in publicity