What is Free Consent under the Indian Contract Act?

As per the provisions of Section 14 of the Indian Contract Act, the 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.

In the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the definition of Consent is given in Section 14 which states that “it is when two or more persons agree upon the same thing in the same sense”.

For Example, Ishika agrees to sell her mobile phone to Disha. Ishika owns three phones and wants to sell her Samsung phone to Disha, but Disha thinks she is buying her iPhone. Here, Ishika and Disha have not agreed upon the same thing in the same sense. Therefore, there is no consent, and no contract established between Ishika and Disha.

According to the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 the definition of Consent is provided in the Act. It establishes that it is when two or more persons agree upon the same thing in the same sense. So, in order to create a legal relationship between two people, they must agree to something in the same sense. Here, when both parties agree or are ready to perform a contract in the same sense or harmony, an agreement will be complete. As for Free Consent, both parties should commit to a single thing and must show mutual trust between both parties.

Geeky Takeaways:

• Two or more people are said to have consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.
• Under the contract, one party should not have an undue advantage over the other, so consent is required to make the contract a fruitful junction between the two parties.