What is a Free Consent?
As per the provisions of Section 14 of the Indian Contract Act, consent is said to be free when it is not caused by any of the following:
- Coercion (Section 15)
- Undue Influence (Section 16)
- Fraud (Section 17)
- Misrepresentation (Section 18)
- Mistake (Section 20)
When consent to an agreement is caused by either of any elements like coercion, fraud, misrepresentation, or undue influence, the agreement will be a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so compromised. When the consent is caused by mistake, the contract will be treated as void.
For example, Aliya agrees to sell her mobile phone to Ranbir. Aliya owns three phones and wants to sell her Motorola phone to Ranbir, but Ranbir thinks he is buying her iPhone. Here, Aliya and Ranbir have not agreed upon the same thing in the same sense. Therefore, there is no consent and no contract established between Aliya and Ranbir.
Undue Influence : Meaning, Presumption and Effects
According to the Indian Contract Act, 1872, consent is when two or more persons agree upon the same thing in the same sense. To create a legal relationship between two parties to a contract, they must agree to the same thing in the same sense. Here, an agreement will be completed only when both parties to the contract agree or are ready to perform a contract in the same sense or harmony. For free consent in a contract, both parties to the contract should commit to the same thing and must show mutual trust between them.
As per the provisions of the Indian Contract Act 1872, when the relations between the two parties are of the nature that one party is in a position to dominate the decision-making of the other party and the party in the dominant position uses his influence to obtain an unfair and unjust advantage of the other party, such influence is called Undue Influence. It is to be noted that in any case where consent is affected by influence and there is any reposition or betrayal of confidence, the principle of equity shall be applied.
Geeky Takeaways:
- Consent is considered to be the most fundamental component of any contract. Every valid contract works on the principle of consensus ad idem; i.e., meeting of minds.
- Two or more people will be considered to have given consent for a contract when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.
- To make the contract a fruitful junction between the two parties, consent is required.
- The Indian Contract Act, 1872 makes sure that under the contract, none of the parties to the contract shall have any undue advantage over the other.
- The consent of any party to the contract can be affected by different things; they can be either coercion, fraud, misrepresentation, or undue influence.
Table of Content
- What is a Free Consent?
- What is Undue Influence?
- Presumption of Undue Influence
- Burden of Proof and Rebutting the Presumption
- Effect of Undue Influence
- Conclusion
- Undue Influence – FAQs