1. [FREE CONSENT] December 9, 2010
Free Consent
Two or more persons are said to consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense.
The consent is not free if it is caused by
Coercion Undue Influence Fraud Misrepresentation Mistake
 Coercion means-
a) Committing or threatening to commit an act forbidden by the Penal Code.
b) The unlawful detaining or threatening to detain any property.
Note: If the consent is sought by coercion the contract becomes voidable at the option of
the party on whom coercion is exercised (aggrieved party) and not at the option of the
party exercising coercion.
 Undue influence means-
A contract is said to be induced by undue influence where –
I. One of the parties is in position to dominate the will of the other
II. He uses the position to obtain an unfair advantage over the other
Note: If a person who has the capacity of influencing the free will of the other does so to
his advantage and to the detriment (disadvantage) of the other and makes the other enter
into a contract, the consent is said to have been received by undue influence making the
contract voidable at the option of the person on whom undue influence is exercised and
not at the option of the person exercising undue influence.
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2. [FREE CONSENT] December 9, 2010
 Fraud –
The term fraud includes all acts committed by a person with a view to deceive another
person. To deceive means to induce a man to believe a thing is true which is false.
Note: Any contract enter into by fraud is voidable at the option the party on whom fraud
is committed and not at the option of the party committing fraud.
 Misrepresentation-
Misrepresentation arises when the representation made in inaccurate but the inaccuracy is
not to any desire to defraud the other party. There is no intension to deceive.
The causes of misrepresentation are –
i. Unwarranted assertion
ii. Breach of duty
iii. Innocent mistake
Note : The consequences of misrepresentation are –
i) The aggrieved party can avoid the agreement
ii) The aggrieved party can insist that the contract be performed and he shall be put in the
position is which he would have been if the representation made had been true.
 Mistake
An erroneous belief concerning something is called mistake.
Types of mistake
1. Mistake of law
2. Mistake of fact
3. Bilateral mistake
4. Unilateral mistake
Note:
1.When both the parties of the contract mistake is called bilateral mistake.
2.When one of the parties of the contract mistakes is called unilateral mistake.
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3. [FREE CONSENT] December 9, 2010
Important MCQ’s on Free Consent
Q.1. The term ‘free consent’ is defined in
(a) Section 12 (b) Section 13 (c) Section 14 (d) Section 15
Q.2. Committing any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code (i.e. committing an offence) with
the intention of obtaining the consent to a contract, amounts to
(a) Fraud (b) misrepresentation (c) coercion (d) undue influence
Q.3. Threat to commit suicide amounts to
(i) Fraud
(ii) Coercion
(iii) Undue influence
(iv) Mistake.
Q.4. Which of the following is not an essential element of fraud?
(a) It must be committed with belief in its truth.
(b) It must be committed with an intention to deceive
(c) It must be committed with the knowledge of it falsity.
(d) It must be committed by a party to the contract.
Q.5. In cases of silence amounting to fraud where the other party had the means of discovering
truth with ordinary diligence, the contract is
(a) Void (b) voidable (c) not voidable (d) conditional
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4. [FREE CONSENT] December 9, 2010
Q.6. Which of the following elements do not affect the free consent of the parties?
a) Coercion
b) Fraud
c) Incompetency
d) Mistake
Q.7 The cases of ‘no free consent’ i.e., when the consent is there, but the same is not free, are
Described by Salmond as
a) Error in causa
b) Error in consensus
c) Consensus ad idem
d) None of these.
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