Site navigation

A threatens to seriously injure his wife unless she signs a sale deed in favour of his brother. She signs because of the threat. What is the position under the Indian Contract Act, 1872?

Question and options

A threatens to seriously injure his wife unless she signs a sale deed in favour of his brother. She signs because of the threat. What is the position under the Indian Contract Act, 1872?

  1. Voidable at the wife's option, because her consent was caused by coercion

  2. Void, because a transfer between spouses for a relative is against public policy

  3. Void, because consent caused by coercion is no consent at all

  4. Valid, because the brother who benefits made no threat himself

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - Voidable at the wife's option, because her consent was caused by coercion

Threatening to commit an act forbidden by the penal law in order to cause a person to enter into an agreement is coercion under Section 15, and it does not matter who makes the threat. Section 19 makes the contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused, not void. Consent caused by coercion is still consent, only not free consent under Section 14.

Practice for these exams

Related exam syllabi

More solved explanations in Free consent