Law of Contract

Law of Contract presents the Indian law of obligations in clear and practical terms. It explains the logic behind every major provision of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and the Specific Relief Act, 1963, using practical examples, charts, and case-based illustrations to make complex ideas intuitive. Contract law being the backbone of civil and commercial relations, this Edition equips readers to understand how contracts are formed, performed, discharged and enforced, and how remedies operate when obligations fail—anchored in up-to-date Supreme Court and High Court rulings.

This book is intended for the following audience:

• LL.B. (3-year & 5-year) & LL.M. Students seeking conceptual clarity with exam-ready treatment and summaries
• Judicial Service & Competitive Exam Aspirants needing doctrine with leading precedents
• Law Teachers & Researchers looking for a classroom-friendly text with comparative and analytical notes
• Practitioners & In-house Counsel who require a compact, current exposition of Contract and Specific Relief for day-to-day advisory and litigation

The Present Publication is the 2nd Edition, authored by Prof. (Dr) Rajni Malhotra Dhingra, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Doctrinal Precision with Rationale] Provisions are explained alongside their underlying policy and leading judicial treatments
• [Illustration-led Learning] Classroom-tested hypotheticals, flowcharts, and comparison tables translate rules into outcomes
• [Case-law Integration] Concise case notes and principle statements aid recall without sacrificing analytical depth
• [Assessment Support] End-of-chapter MCQs, short notes, and problem questions with answer pointers
• [Remedies Made Practical] Stepwise coverage of specific performance, substituted performance, injunctions, declaratory relief, rectification, rescission, and cancellation
• [Contemporary Relevance] Treatment of e-contracts, electronic signatures, standard-form terms, unconscionability, and restitution
• [Aligned to BCI Syllabi] Sequencing, depth, and assessment elements are designed to support semester teaching and examinations
• [Author Expertise] Prof. (Dr) Rajni Malhotra Dhingra has over two decades of experience in teaching and academic leadership. Her work spans Family Law, Contract and Property, with multiple books and articles held in national and international libraries, including the Parliament Library. She also edits reputed legal journals (LCJLS; Indian Affirmative Law Journal)
• [Teaching & Practice Bridge] The text blends doctrinal clarity with courtroom relevance—ideal for seminars, internal assessments, moot preparation and first-response research in chambers
• [Contextual Integration] Notes the historical evolution of contract law in India, its interface with property and commercial statutes, and contemporary themes (IT, IP, online contracting)
• [Pedagogical integrity] Emphasises reasoning, not rote; promotes ethical and professional problem-solving

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Part I — Indian Contract Act 1872 (General and Special Contracts)
  • Foundations – Nature of contractual obligation; scheme of the ICA; classification of agreements and contracts
  • Formation of Contract – Proposal, acceptance, revocation; communication rules; postal/instantaneous and electronic contracting
  • Consideration and Privity – Essentials, exceptions, past and voluntary acts; privity and its recognised relaxations
  • Capacity to Contract – Minors and persons of unsound mind; necessaries; contracts with disqualified persons
  • Free Consent – Coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation, and mistake; consequences and election
  • Legality of Object and Consideration – Unlawful objects; public policy; restraints of trade, marriage, and legal proceedings; wagering and uncertainty
  • Contingent and Quasi-contracts – Enforcement of contingent agreements; restitution and unjust enrichment
  • Performance and Discharge – Tender, reciprocal promises, time stipulations, novation, alteration, rescission, impossibility/frustration, and breach
  • Damages and Remedies (ICA) – Remoteness, mitigation, expectation/reliance measures; liquidated damages and penalties; restitutionary responses
  • Special Contracts
    • Indemnity and Guarantee – Rights and liabilities, continuing guarantees, discharge
    • Bailment and Pledge – Duties, lien, pledge by non-owners
    • Agency – Creation and authority (actual/apparent), ratification, principal–agent–third party relations, termination
• Part II — Specific Relief Act 1963
  • Remedial Framework – Nature, scope, and interface with ICA and CPC
  • Specific Performance – Grant and refusal; substituted performance; readiness and willingness; non-enforceable agreements; defences and equitable considerations
  • Injunctions – Perpetual and mandatory injunctions; negative covenants; interim and final reliefs; interactions with special statutes
  • Declaratory Relief – Parties entitled, procedural posture, and strategic utility
  • Rectification, Rescission, and Cancellation – Grounds, procedure, and effects; relationship with limitation and pleadings
• Contemporary Themes Interwoven Across Chapters
  • Standard-form contracts and unfair terms.
  • Consumer-law intersections and sectoral frameworks.
  • Digital formation, attribution, and evidentiary nuances.
  • Drafting cautions and identifying litigation pitfalls; quantifying damages and restitution.

The structure of the book is as follows:

• Three-part Architecture – Substantive law under ICA, remedial framework under SRA, and preventive relief under injunction law
• Chapter Design – Learning objectives → statutory extracts → doctrinal analysis → case-law capsules → illustrations and comparative tables → 'Exam Corner' (MCQs/short notes/problems) → key takeaways
• Pedagogical Aids – Flowcharts for formation and discharge; matrices (void vs. voidable; indemnity vs. guarantee; types of injunctions); checklists for drafting and pleadings
• Assessment Integration – Questions vary by difficulty and format to support both continuous assessment and end-term exams