Contract:

A contract is an agreement, enforceable by law, made between at least two parties by which rights are acquired by one and obligations are created on the part of another. If the party, which had agreed to do something, fails to that, then the other party has a remedy.

Example:

D Airlines sells a ticket on 1 January to X for the journey from Mumbai to Bangalore on 10 January. The Airlines is under and obligation to take X from Mumbai to Bangalore on 10 January. In case the Airlines fail to fulfill its promise, X has a remedy against it.

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Thus, X has a right against the Airlines to be taken from Mumbai to Bangalore on 10 January. A corresponding duty is imposed on the Airlines. As there is a breach of promise by the promisor (the Airlines), the other party to the contract (i.e., X) has a legal remedy.

Some examples of contracts which we enter into day after day are noted. Taking a seat in a bus counts to entering into a contract. When a coin is put into the slot of a weighing machine, a contract is entered into. Going to a restaurant and taking snacks therein amounts to entering into a contract. In such cases, we do not even realize that we have entered into a contract.

Section 2(h) defines a contract as “an agreement enforceable by law”. Thus, a contract essentially consists of two elements: (i) an agreement and (ii) its enforceability by law.

Agreement:

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Section 2(e) defines an agreement as “every promise and every set of promises forming consideration for each other”. In this context, the word ‘promise’ is defined by s.2(b). In a contract there are at least two parties. One of them makes a proposal (or an offer) to the other, to do something, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act. When the person to whom the proposal is made signifies his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted. A proposal, when accepted becomes a promise. The person making the proposal are called ‘promisor’ and the person accepting the proposal is called the ‘promisee’.

Contracts and documents which are required to be registered:

There are some contracts and documents which are required to be not only in writing but, in addition, are required to be registered with some competent authority or the other. Some of these are: (i) Transfer of immovable property, I.e., lease, sale, mortgage or gift thereof. (ii) A memorandum of association of a company. (iii) An articles of association of a company. (vi) Mortgage and charges of properties by a company. (v) Documents coming within the purview of the Registration Act, 1908.

An implied contract may be implied in fact or implied in law:

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Contracts implied in fact and contracts implied in law are not really contracts at all. They are remedies devised by the courts. Courts apply them when the legal requirements of India Contract act, 1872 for contract formation do not exist, but it would be grossly unjust to permit one party to benefit – without paying – from what he received from the other.

A contract implied in fact is not expressly stated. Rather, a court, examining the facts and circumstances, implies the existence of the contract from the acts or conduct of the tourist agreed to pay a reasonable amount, although neither party says anything about it. The parties may not have thought consciously that they were forming a contractual relationship. Still, it is only common sense that the tourist and the garage owner agreed to an exchange of services for money. And, that is why the courts devised contracts implied in fact.

A contract implied at law, also called a quasi-contract, is an obligation imposed by a court to do justice between the parties even though they never exchanged, or intended to exchange, promises. In this instance, a court implies a contract to prevent one party’s unjust enrichment at the other’s expense.