Ankush Aggarwal
Introduction
A contract is a kind of agreement that is enforceable by law. It comes under The Indian Contract Act, 1872. It is a kind of promise in which one person agrees to do something for another person and satisfy his need and for something in return after the fulfilment of the promise. The valid contract is made only by satisfying some condition which is mentioned under the act.
Agreement under Indian Contract Act, 1872
It comes under section 2(e). The section says that: –
“Every promise and set of promises, forming the consideration for each other, is an agreement”
This section says that when anyone makes a promise or a set of promises with another person for some necessary consideration then both the parties come under an agreement only.
Contract under Indian Contract Act, 1872
It comes under section 2(h). According to the section says that: –
“An agreement enforceable by law is a contract”
This section states that, when someone makes a promise or the set of promises to do something or not to do something for another person for some valid consideration or something in return, it constitutes an agreement between the parties and when it is enforceable by law it becomes a contract.
Any agreement which is not enforceable by law is said to be void.
Essential Conditions of a Legal Contract
- Capacity: All the parties who want to be entered into a contract or want to form it should be capable of entering into it, which means they should be competent to enter and to be the party of it. Persons who are capable to enter are: –
- Major person,
- The person with a sound mind,
- The person which is not disqualified by law.
Any person which is not capable of still agrees should be considered void.
- Lawful Object: For any party who wants to form a contract, the objective behind it should always be lawful and for some lawful work or act to be done, the unlawful objective cannot be considered as an objective for valid agreement. It should always be considered as the void.
- Offer: It comes under section 2(a). Anyone who shows his willingness or voluntary to do something for another person or to obtain the consent of that person to do such act, so who voluntarily want to do make a proposal which is known as an offer. Every contract always starts with an offer.
- Acceptance: It comes under section 2(b). The person to whom the offer or proposal is made, if he accepts or gave consent to that proposal or offer then that offer or proposal is considered as accepted or the give the acceptance to that offer.
After the acceptance of that offer, it becomes a promise. The party who makes the offer now is known as the “promisor”. And the party who accept that offer is known as “promisee”.
- Mutual consent: When two or more parties enter into a contract it should always be with the free consent or agree upon the same thing in the same sense as it is conveyed is known as mutual consent given by both the parties.
In the making of it, there should be always a free consent of all the parties who are willing to enter into it, there should be no pressure or undue influence or any kind of Misrepresentation by any party towards the other parties.
- Consideration: It comes under section 2(d). When the promisor desirous to willingly or voluntarily do something or complete the promise it should always be for some consideration or something valuable in exchange for that promise.
The promisee is liable to pay something in return to the promisor in the form of cash or cheque or in-kind there should be always a consideration. Which does not have any consideration, does not consider as valid, that one cannot be enforceable by law, it is considered as void.
- Enforceable by law: It comes under section 2(h). It is the most important element because if an agreement did not enforce by law it cannot be considered as a contract. An agreement only gets enforce when it satisfies all the above-mentioned elements and all the elements present in an agreement, only then it gets enforced by law.
Above mentioned all the elements have to be satisfied before getting enforce by law unless the agreement cannot be considered as valid, so that’s why it is the most important element.
So, the above mentioned all 7 elements have to satisfy step by step according to Act by all the parties involved in the making of the contract to make it valid. They all are necessary to be satisfied.
Conclusion
The Indian Contract Act, 1872 gives all the necessary elements to make the legal contract and enforce it by law. Any person who wants to be a part of it or wants to make it has fulfilled all the elements according to the act. Any person can make the contract by just satisfy all the above-mentioned elements.
