“Agreements, the meaning of which is not certain, or capable of being made certain, are void” (Sec. 29). Through Section 29 the law aims to ensure that the parties to a contract should be aware of the precise nature and scope of their natural rights and obligations under the contract. Thus, if the words used by the parties are vague or indefinite, the law cannot enforce the agreement.
Illustrations:
(a) A agrees to sell to B ” a hundred tons of oil”. There is nothing whatever to show what kind of oil was intended. The agreement is void for uncertainty.
(b) A, who is a dealer in coconut oil only, agrees to sell to B “one hundred tons of oil.” The nature of A’s trade affords an indication of the meaning of the words, and A has entered into a contract for the sale of one hundred tons of coconut oil.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(c) A agrees to sell to B “one thousand mounds of rice at a price to be fixed by C.” As the price is capable of being made certain, there is no uncertainty here to make the agreement void.
(d) A agrees to sell to B “his white horse for rupees five hundred or rupees one thousand.” There is nothing to show which of the two prices was to be given. The agreement is void.
Further, and agreement “to enter into an agreement in future” is void for uncertainty unless all the terms of the proposed agreement are agreed expressly or implicitly. Thus, an agreement to engage a servant sometime next year, at a salary to be mutually agreed upon is a void agreement.