. It does not violate any copy write material .

Due acknowledgements have been given, in footnote, to the original authors/books/publications, wherever the words/material is used. After submission, this assignment shall become the property of the Assigner, UPES, who shall be free to use it for all/any academic purpose or to make it publish for the benefit of the Institution. This declaration signed today on the seventh day of December 2012 in Dehradun. Nishith upadhyaya: Jinendra parakh: Abhijeet singh: Siddharth agarwal:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to extend our gratitude firstly to Dr. Saurav Chaturvedi assistant dean COLS, UPES for supporting us throughout and standing by us through thick and thin even under strict conditions and for guiding and shaping this project work with his critical questions and attention not only to the ideas but also the content, logic and general thrust of the arguments. We would also like to thank, all those who have facilitated us for completing this project work. We express our deep depth of gratitude to all those who were directly or indirectly involved in preparing this project. Last but not the least we would like to thank UPES for providing us ample facilities and the opportunity to be a part of this noble cause of education.

OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT

To critically examine the past, present and future perspective of contract. To understand the concept of types of legal & illegal contracts. To understand Consequences of illegal contracts. To analyze different case laws and examine their judgment. To get a clear perspective on void agreements.

ABSTRACT
The world around us is dynamic in nature. The legality of issues related to contracts is in question, ranging from same sex marriages, live in relationship, to contracts that exist in corporate world for the purpose of acquisition and mergers. The complete project deals with the topic of legality of contract, its causes and its consequences. The project work very well explains the concept of legal contract and illegal contract and lays emphasis on theories of types of illegal contract, placing an equal emphasis on case laws as well as critical analysis. In particular, the discussion of recent cases and legislation is centered on why contract law is the way it is, whether it can be justified, and, if not, what should be done to improve it. The project highlights the present scenario through illustrations and the current world scenario. Critical analysis of the concept along with productive suggestions is done so as to recommend our views as per the needs of the society and in accordance with law.

Contract
Contract law is in a state of transformation. The subject of contract has assumed greater importance currently in the context of tremendous expansion in trade and business. The basic concept originated as, agreements which were accepted in the society. The concept grew to legality of agreements in terms of reasonableness, logic and the norms set up by the authorities. The present concept deals with complex contracts which not only interpret the law in a different way but are also capable of changing the law. The future of contract law is based on technological advancement and expansion of trade and commerce in terms of globalization.

Initial view
As per the Indian contract act, 1872 all agreements enforceable by law are contracts The contract act defines contract in a step by step manner defining proposal followed by agreement and finally contract. When individuals show their willingness to agree upon something beneficial for both of them and this willingness is as such that it is to obtain their positive feedback then such positive feedback backed by legal enforceability and consideration can be termed as a contract

The initial definition of contract was as such to deal with the basic nature of agreements however in todays dynamic environment its ambit is far more advance. The prevalent agreements in their archaic understanding were considered legal but after the commencement of the contract act and its development, a wider area has been created to classify contracts as legal and illegal.

Present view
In the present time the definition of contract has undergone a huge change because what was illegal a few years back is legal now. The preview of contract has widened because of the socio-economic changes taking place in this dynamic world. The legality of contract is in question because the doctrine of consideration, the concept of public policy, morality and the specifications in the contract act itself are undergoing modifications. Citing example in this regard, In the case of Alok Kumar v State & Anr1.The Delhi high court was of the opinion that live in relationship is a contract of living together which is renewed every
day by the parties and can be terminated by either of the parties without consent of the other party and one party can walk out at will at any time.

Future view
The definition of contract will undergo drastic development in the near future because of the fact that the society and the practices prevalent in the society are facing radical and revolutionary changes. The concept of contract in the coming future will depend upon the changing norms of the society. The reasons behind this are as follows:
1

Crl.M.C.No. 299/2009

Legal Awareness among the society. Changing attitude towards investment, trade and business. Financial capability and stability.

Legal contract
The legality of contract as defined in section 10 of the Indian contract act is as follows: All agreements will be legal contracts if they have a real and adequate consideration which is legal, the object of the contract is legal, the consent of the parties is free and it should not be declared void by the contract act. The term legal in current context appears to be quite vague because of the fact that in the ever so changing world the ambit of legality has expanded. What was considered a few years back as against to public policy is being considered as legal now. The definition of the term morality in the legal context has also expanded. Example: In case of solicitor Alok kumar2, the Delhi high court was of the view that live-in relationships were a type of contract which is renewed every day and can be revoked any time. Such decisions have changed the very notions of the contract as we knew it and gave path to practical thinking.

Illegal contract
2

Ibid at 1

The term illegal can be defined as something which is against reasonableness, logic and basic norms of the society. The official definition that can be interpreted through the contract act is as follows: The agreements which are not enforceable by law are termed as illegal contracts. The term however is not justified in our opinion because the fact that contract is itself an agreement which is backed by legal enforceability then how a contract can be illegal. This is a serious lacuna according to us. The correct approach can be illegal agreements instead of illegal contracts. The various kinds of conditions which render an agreement illegal are discussed below:

TYPES OF ILLEGAL AGREEMENTS

1. CONTRACT TO COMMITT CRIME OR CIVIL WRONG

If a contract has as its object the deliberate commission of crime then it is illegal and the court will not enforce it. If the contract is to deliberately commit a civil wrong it is illegal and unenforceable. However if the parties are ignorant of the fact that by the contract they are committing a civil wrong, then it is not illegal. If one of the parties to the contract knows the contract is illegal, then only the innocent party is entitled to rely on the contract.

ILLUSTRATION

Suppose A and B are parties to contract. If A ask B to kill C and then he will give Rs. 10000 then here the objective of the contract is to commit a crime. The contract is illegal.

Suppose if A enters into Bs land assuming it as Cs land. Here A has granted permission by C to enter into his land whereas A has entered innocently without any intention to commit civil wrong so here A cannot be held liable for any wrong.

CASE STUDY Clay v yates [1856] A printer agreed with an author to print copies of the authors book. The printer was unaware that the book contained libelous material. He discovered the libel after he had printed part of the book and refused to do any more. He claimed the value (quantum meruit explained in Chapter IS on remedies for breach of contract) of work done, but the author refused to pay for incomplete performance. Held: the printer was justified in ceasing work on the book and might recover payment for work done. CRITICAL ANALYSIS As per my views if both the parties dont know that the contract they are entering would lead to illegal activity then both the parties are not liable. Then who will compensate the loss suffered by any and the parties to contract. In such a case loss can be recovered by mutual understanding or by contributory way. 2. OBJECT AND CONSIDERATION The object and consideration may in some cases be the same thing but may also be different. While the term object unlike the term consideration not been defined section 2 of the act but has been held to mean as purpose or design of the contract. If the object is opposed to public policy or tends to defeat any provision of law it become unlawful and thereby it is void under section 23 of the act. ILLUSTRATION If A and B are parties to contract and A gives 1000 rupees to B to kill C then the object of the contract between A and B is unlawful. Hence in such cases agreement is void. CASE STUDY

Robert vadra case

In October 2012, Arvind Kejriwal accused Vadra of taking an interest-free loan of 65 crores and heavy bargains on land from DLF Limited in exchange for political favors. . SLH(Sky Light hospitality) received another Rs.10 crore from DLF as Advance from DLF Ltd (Land account). This is also interest free. This money was received by SLH in 2008-09 and remained with them for more than 2 years. DLF advanced another loan of Rs.15 core in 2008-09 to SLH. DLF claims that this was meant as an advance for some property in Faridabad in which, some legal problems were discovered later. After using that money for about a year, SLH returned it to DLF. DLF did not charge any interest on that. Does that appear to be a normal business practice?

CRITICAL ANALYSIS The basic question arises that what is the consideration between DLF and Robert vadra SLH. If there is consideration then is it adequate. The agreement between the 2 companies for land buying and their transactions can be considered as lawful. In the above case the object is lawful but the consideration is not there. According to section 25 of the Indian contract act 1872 an agreement made without consideration is void. The case is in Allahabad high court and the judgment is still to be delivered. 3. IMMORAL The law does not allow an agreement tainted with immorality to be enforced. What is immoral. Depends upon the standards of morality prevailing at a particular time and as approved by the courts. But certain kinds of act have been regarded as immoral since times immemorial and will perhaps always be so regarded. One such act is interference with marital relations. The definition of immorality according to black law dictionary Contrary to good morals; Inconsistent with the rules and principles of morality which regard men as living in a community, and which are necessary for the public welfare, order, and decency. Law makes moral claims, and when it makes those claims sincerely it has moral aims, and when it succeeds in those aims it is morally justified law.

DEALING WITH SEX WORKERS

Dealing with sex workers have always been regarded as immoral. If articles are sold or something is hired to a prostitute for the purpose of enabling her to carry on her profession, neither the price of the article sold or the rent of the thing hired can be recovered. The Law governing prostitution in India is Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act which is a 1986 amendment to the primary law passed in 1950 {known as the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act}.

DANCING GIRLS Help given or promised to a dancing girl is not tainted with immoralityi.On 12 April 2006, the court struck down the ban on the ground that livelihood under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution. It held that the exemption granted to a class of establishments it was unconstitutional and violated fundamental right of the bar dancer to practice her profession and earn her was arbitrary and violative of the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. It observed that there was no nexus between the amendment and the objectives propounded in favor of the ban in the Bombay Police Act.5

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The complete ban on dancing girl is completely unjustified in bars. Though on the moral grounds dancing girls is not tolerable but fundamental right cannot be violated on the ground of morality. But there should be certain regulations like Ban Only Obscene and Objectionable Moves, Not Dance. The timing of bars should be regulated and there working conditions should be strictly layed. The basic reason to justify dancing girl as complete ban will make about 1 lakh girls jobless.

4. PUBLIC POLICY

"Public policy ... is a very unruly horse and when you get astride of it, you never know where it will carry you." An agreement is unlawful if the court regards it as opposed to public policy. The term public policy in its broadest sense means that sometimes the court will, on consideration of public interest, refuse to enforce a contract. We now come to the third class of illegal contract, namely, contracts which violate the rules of public policy. The rule of law, applicable to this class of cases, is, that all agreements which contravene the public policy are void, whether they be in violation of law or of morals, or tend to interfere with those artificial rules which are supposed by the law to be beneficial to the interests of society, or obstruct the prospective objects flowing indirectly from some positive legal injunction or prohibition. Now the basic question arises who has the authority to define public policy and what is the precise definition of public policy. Public policy is in its nature so uncertain and fluctuating, varying with the habits and fashions of the day, with the growth of commerce and the usages of trade, that it is difficult to determine its limits with any degree of exactness. It has never been defined by the courts, but has been left loose and free of definition, in the same manner as fraud. This rule may, however, be safely laid down, that wherever any contract conflicts with the morals of the time, and contravenes any established interest of society, it is void, as being against public policy. CONRACTS AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY What contracts can be termed as contract against public policyA general example of a contract against the public policy of the present day is to be found in a confederation or combination of persons for the purpose of preventing competition at an auction sale, and of depressing the price of the property below its fair market value. Thus, if two or more persons should agree not to bid against each other at auction, but that one should bid, and then divide with the others the subject-matter of sale, the agreement would be absolutely void, and incapable of ratification. But an agreement to create " a corner "in stock, by buying it up so as to control the market, and then purchase for future delivery, is illegal and void. CASE STUDY

HBC V LASAMAWWA A contract of sale in consideration of the purchaser providing expenses of the marriage of a minor girl is opposed to public policy. Policy being in violation of the prohibition of marriage of the children. ANALYSIS IS SURROGACY CONTRACTS AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY Whether a surrogacy contract is enforceable depends on the resolution of a number of issues. First, courts must decide whether such a contract is void as against public policy or voidable by the birth mother (giving the surrogate the right to reject the contract). If the contract is enforceable, then the proper remedy for the breach of the agreement must be determined. Some courts may order the mother to hand over the child. Other courts will only allow monetary damages.

Baby Manji Yamada v Union of India ii Commissioned by a surrogate mother from Gujarat, Baby Manji was left in limbo after the divorce of the contracting Japanese couple. The desperate situation of the few days old Japanese baby, stuck between a surrogate mother, who was only acting under a commercial arrangement and was not keen to keep the baby, the contracting mother who was no longer interested in the baby, and the contracting father, who wanted the baby but certain provisions of the Indian law posed a hindrance, was widely reported by the media. From a legal viewpoint, there were two landmark outcomes of this case. For the first time the Supreme Court of India was required to examine issues relating to a surrogacy agreement (even though these issues did not directly relate to validity or enforceability of the surrogacy contract itself) and, subsequent to this case, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) proposed the draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) (Regulation) Bill 2008.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
As per my views the laws related to surrogacy are still not clear. Legalizing surrogacy in todays legal

parameter may be lead to illogical consequences and such contracts may be inherently impossible unless certain changes are made to legislations in force. , the intended parents and surrogate mother are required to enter into a surrogacy agreement which shall be legally enforceable, and the surrogate mother is required to relinquish all parental rights over the child. The surrogate baby of a separated or divorced couple shall continue to be their legitimate child if both parties had consented to the ART Bill 2008 to have the baby and the baby is presumed to be the legitimate child of the contracting parents. HEADS OF PUBLIC POLICY 1. Trafficking in public offices An agreement by which it is intended to induce a public officer to act corruptly is contrary to public policy. An agreement, for example, by which a sum of money provided to a charity on the condition that the latter would procure knighthood for the plaintiff was held void and the money irrecoverable. A sale of seats in public institution is equally opposed to public policy.

2G SPECTUM SCAM CASE In 2008 the telecom department issued 122 licenses to several domestic companies with little or no experience in telecom sector. The licenses are given to telecom companies like swan, Videocon Vodafone. The price of the spectrum was undervalued and are allocated in unreasonable cost. The allocation can be termed against public policy as in these case public officials are induced and no proper bidding process was done. The Supreme Court cancelled all 122 telecom licenses allotted under the 2G spectrum on or after January 10, 2008. While cancelling the licenses the Supreme Court ruled that 85 out of the 122 licenses were outside the eligibility criteria for allocation and thus the contract signed between TRAI(telecom regulatory authority of India) and spectrum holder was quashed by the supreme court MARRIAGE BROKERAGE CONTRACT An agreement to procure the marriage of the person in consideration of a sum of money is called marriage brokerage contract. Such agreements are void. A typical illustration would be

an agreement for the sale of girl. We all must heard daily about the cases of sale of girl in our society. The custom of paying bride price to the parents of a girl is well known in India. In such cases it is very well established by Punjab, Calcutta and madras high court, an agreement to pay money to the parent of a minor to induce him to give the minor in marriage is void. It is very well established from the ganpata v lahana that if the money has already paid but the marriage fails to go through, it has been held in a few cases that the money can be taken back.

CRTICAL ANALYSIS

The marriage brokerage contract is void. As per my views the marriage brokerage contract are somewhat similar to dowry. But in Indian society it is very hard to eliminate dowry which is rooted in its tradition. But how we can make difference what is dowry and what is gift. If the parents of girls are giving money forcefully but to maintain relation they are giving it name of gift. It is very well explained in the judgment of Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has ruled that demand for money and presents from parents of a married girl at the time of birth of her child or for other ceremonies, as is prevalent in society, may be depreciable but cannot be categorized as dowry to make it a punishable offence. This means, if a daughter-in-law is being harassed for customary gifts by parents-in-law, then they could be booked under ordinary penal provisions but not under the tough anti-dowry laws providing stringent punishments.

UNFAIR OR UNREASONABLE DEALINGS

Where the parties are not economically on equal footing and there is a wide gap in the bargaining power of the parties, where one of them in a position to exploit and the other is vulnerable and the contract made with the other is apparently unfair, it can in circumstances be also regarded as opposed to public policy. The subject of Unfair Terms in Contract has attained grave importance in recent times not only in relation to consumer contracts but also in regard to other contracts. It is observed that in most of the cases the customers and employers are the aggrieved party as a result of unfair and unreasonable contract.

LEGALITY OF OBJECT
There are four requirements for the formation of contract. And the fourth and the last requirement for the formation of contract is that parties must contract for a lawful object. An agreement the object of which is opposed by any law enforce in India, is simply void. Section 23 of ICA 1872 states that: What considerations and objects are lawful and what not. The consideration or object of an agreement is lawful, unless it is forbidden by law; or is of such a nature that, if permitted, it would defeat the provisions of any law; or is fraudulent ; or involves or implies injury to the person or property of another or the Court regards it as immoral, or opposed to public policy. In each of these cases, the consideration or object of an

agreement is said to be unlawful. Every agreement, of which the object or consideration is unlawful, is void.3 Few examples (a) A and B enter into an agreement for the division of gain obtained by fraud. Here the agreement between A and B is void, as its object is unlawful. (b) A and B entered into an agreement, for kidnapping. Here the agreement is void as it is forbidden by law.

OBJECT AND CONSIDERATION When it comes to object and consideration we may take it in the same sense in some cases but usually they are different. For example where money is borrowed for the purpose of marriage of a minor, the consideration for the contract is loan and the object, the marriage. One thing more I would like to mention, that Indian Contract Act 1872 is not clear about the word OBJECT as it has not distinguished between object and consideration. FORBIDDEN BY LAW It means the agreement is void, when the object of the agreement is forbidden by law.Law here means the law that is in force India at the time of making the agreement and therefore, includes Hindu and Mohammedan laws also and also principles of unwritten law. For example, carrying on money lending business without registration and license under any Money-Lenders Act has been held to be contrary to the enactment and, therefore, void4. DEFEAT ANY LAW Now what happens sometimes, that the object of, or the consideration for an agreement is such that though not directly forbidden by law, it would, if permitted, defeat the provisions of any law. Such an agreement is also void.

3 4

Indian contract act 1872 Haseen bano v syed habeeb sayeedudin. http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/376096/?formInput=haseen%20banu%20syed%20habeeb

An illustration is Ragazzoni v K.C Sethia. Under the Sea Custom Acts 1878, the government of india prohibited the export of goods to South Africa. The plaintiff and the defendant, being aware of the prohibition and in a bid to overcome the embargo, agreed that a larger quantity of jute bags would be shipped from india and made available in Genoa for resale to South African buyers. The defendant failed to deliver the goods and the plaintiff sued for damages. The court held that while the English courts will not enforce foreign revenue or penal laws, they will not entertain an action based on a transaction which is knowingly intended to involve a breach of such laws.5

FRAUDULENT An agreement made on the basis of fraud is void. Where the parties agree to impose a fraud on a third party, their agreement is not legal. For example an insurance company obtained the consent of the insured, by showing false documents that their company is registered under IRDA Act 1999. This amounts to fraud and hence the contract is void. In another case, there were two decree holders against the debtor and one of them, the plaintiff, had the debtors property attached and brought to sale. The plaintiff agreed with the defendant, a prospective buyer, that he would not bid against the defendant and that the defendant would pay him off. The property was thus knocked down to the defendant for a very small price. It was held that the whole object of the agreement was fraudulent as it deprived the other decree holder of what he would have got if the sale had been competitive. Accordingly, the plaintiff could not recover anything from the defendant. Intention to deceive seems to be necessary for an agreement to fall in this category. INJURIOUS TO PERSON OR PROPERTY An agreement between two parties to injure the third party or to injure the property of that person is unlawful. The object that is to injure person or property in these types of agreement is illegal and these agreements are void. For example, there was an agreement between A and B to kill C. Here the main objective of the agreement that is to kill C is illegal, unlawful and
5

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=327A6BEB12CDD0E1D0B0941F6EE362D5.jou rnals?fromPage=online&aid=1461672

hence the agreement is void. On the other hand an agreement to construct a railway line on a land to be acquired for the purpose does involve injury to person or property because the object is to construct a railway for the benefit of people not to harm the property of others.6

IMMORAL The law does not allow an agreement tainted with immorality to be enforced. The object or the consideration of an agreement is immoral, it is treated to be unlawful. Now the question is what is immoral? Immoral depends upon the standards of morality prevailing at a particular time and as approved by the courts. But certain kinds of acts have been regarded as immoral since times immemorial and will perhaps always be so regarded. A promise to marry a married woman after the death of her husband or after she obtains divorce from him is immoral. In the same way, a promise made by a married man to marry a woman after the death of his wife or after obtaining divorce from her is illegal. Helping a prostitute to carry on her profession is also considered immoral. Anything given or taken from her is irrecoverable.

http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1090541/

Void Agreements
Giving the meaning of a void agreement, the act says in Section (g): An agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void7. The first requirement of a valid contract is that it should be enforceable by law otherwise it will be termed as void. Like if there is an agreement between two parties but if it is not enforceable by law due to any reason like, it is an agreement in restraint of trade etc. The following types of agreements are declared to be void: Agreements of which consideration and object are unlawful in part [S. 24]; Agreements without consideration [S. 25]; Agreements in restraint of marriage [S. 26]; Agreements in restraint of trade [S. 27]; Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings [S. 28]; Unmeaning agreements [S. 29]; Wagering agreements [S. 30];

Agreements to do impossible acts [S. 31];

1) Agreements of which consideration or object are unlawful in part [S. 24]

If any part of consideration or a complete consideration is unlawful in the eyes of law, the agreement would be termed as void. Those agreements that do not have lawful consideration or object are declared void. Like if a person enters into a contract with a consideration of supplying kids for slavery is a void agreement because consideration of supplying kids for slavery is unlawful and it is forbidden by law.

Illustration: A enters into a contract with B. They agreed upon a consideration that A will supply him the arms and in return B will provide him drugs. In this situation it would be considered as void because both the consideration i) ii) Supplying arms & Supplying drugs are unlawful and illegal. Thus it would be taken as void agreement. Case: -Ram Sewak V Ram Charan8 The parties conducted a partnership business based on an agreement. The agreement provided a partnership business based on an agreement. The agreement provided that they would conceal substantial part of their business by not entering certain items in the books of accounts so that they can evade payments of income tax and sales tax. One of the partners brought an action against the others for accounts and recovery of the amount due to him. His actions were dismissed and it was held that the agreements were aimed at defeating the

AIR 1982 All 177

provisions of tax laws, it was opposed to public policy and therefore, the same was enforceable. The partners could not obtain any benefit from the contract as it was void. Example: When someone buys property but not in his own name in order to avoid land ceiling acts and payments of property tax, the property is said to be in his benami property. A contract to dispose of such a benami property, or an agreement between two parties that one party could hold the benami property on behalf of another in return of some services would be void as it intends to defraud the legal system.

2) Agreements in restraint of marriage [S. 26] Every agreement in restraint of marriage of any person, other than a minor, is void. An agreement which restricts a persons choice for his/her marriage partner or to marry in general is expressly stated to be void in the Indian Contract Act. Example: Ravi and Simran had a long standing affair. Ravi had promised to marry Simran only and nobody else, and in default to pay Rs2, 00,000. Ravi however married Kiran and therefore Simran sued Ravi for recovery of the amount. The court would hold that Simran cannot recover the amount as the agreement was in restraint of marriage, which is declared to be void by the law.

3) Agreements in restraint of trade [S. 27] Our legal system has given a complete freedom to make a trade in all commodities except some areas like arms & nuclear energy production. Every agreement by which any one is restrained from exercising lawful profession, trade or business of any kind, is to that extent void. There are also some exceptions to his rule. They are as follows: -

(A) An agreement of service by which a person binds himself, during the term of the agreement, not to provide service to anyone else, is not in restraint of unlawful profession. (B) An agreement between traders in the same locality not to sell their products below a particular price is valid.(However, such a practice is to be governed by competition law. Competition law ensures that there is a free and fair market and promotes market competition. ).

Case: - Madup Chander V Rajkumar Dass9 The plaintiff and the defendant pursued the same business in the same locality in Kolkata. Defendant agreed to pay some amount to the plaintiff if he closed the business in that locality. Accordingly, the plaintiff closed his business and then brought an action against the defendant to recover the promised amount. It was held that even though the restriction was merely a partial one restraining the plaintiff from practicing a particular trade only in certain locality, it was still void being in restraint of trade, and in consequences the contract would be void. Therefore the plaintiff was not entitled to recover he amount. Example: If a person enters into an agreement on the terms that hell pay the specific amount to the other party if he closes down his business from that area. When the second party closes down his business and does not get any amount, in that case he wont get any amount from the first party as it is a void agreement and is not liable to pay any amount.

4) Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings [S. 28]

An agreement by which a party is restricted absolutely from bringing legal proceedings against another in respect of any rights accruing to that person is void. Also, an agreement which limits the time within which one may enforce his rights which contradicts with the provisions of the Limitation Act is void. 5) Unmeaning agreements [S. 29]
9

(1874) 14 BLR 16

If an agreement is so ambiguous and its terms are so uncertain that it cannot be performed in normal circumstances, then the agreement is void. Example: Two traders, who deal in different types of fertilizers, agree to buy and sell between themselves 100 Kg fertilizer. The contract does not mention what kind of fertilizer should be bought or sold. Which fertilizer should be bought or sold. Thus, this contract is void due to uncertainty of things, and terms. 6) Wagering Agreements [S. 30] An agreement by way of wager are void: and no suit shall be brought for recovering anything alleged to be won on any wager, or entrusted to any person to abide by the result of any game or other uncertain event on which any wager is made. Case:- Badridas Kothari V Meghraj Kothari10 ,

Plaintiff and the defendant engaged into wagering as a result of which the defendant became indebted to the plaintiff and executed a promissory note in favor of the plaintiff to pay the amount as the interest thereon. It was held that the plaintiff could not recover the amount. There are also some exceptions to the wagering agreements: A) Horse race: Horse race has given a legal status in our law. This means any prize won by any person in horse racing worth Rs 500 or above shall not be deemed to a void contract. The main reason behind this is, this does not violate the Section 294A of the Indian Penal Code. A) Lottery: Basic question was raised if competitions based on skills like dancing, singing are not an example of wagering agreement, but places where prizes are awarded on the basis of luck and chance that is lottery are considered as wagering. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh considered it as a wagering. But it came into existence as an exception to section 30 of Indian Contract Act 1872.

10

AIR 1967 Cal 25

7) Agreement to do an impossible act : Those agreements which give the condition or terms to do an impossible act are void. As a corollary, an agreement which is contingent on an impossible act is also void.

Example: a) An agreement to bring a dead person back to life by superstitious actions is void. b) Rashid enters into contract with Shyam that he would supply Pakistani Silk for a complete year. But at that time India declared war with Pakistan, and hence there was no lawful way to export silk from Pakistan to India. Due to this impossibility of the performance of the contract, the contract would be held void in the eyes of law.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Adequacy of consideration is not defined anywhere in Indian contract act 1872 so in todays perspective adequacy of consideration should be defined. Though we agree that it is a complex process but proper measure should be taken to make a precise definition of adequacy of consideration. Surrogacy contracts should not be legalize until and unless there is a concrete legislation to regulate surrogacy contracts so that in near future no children like baby manji yamada suffers such an illogical consequence which is against public policy. There is no precise definition of immorality. Different people came up with their own definitions but the need of the hour is to mark certain benchmark that what is moral and what is immoral.

i ii

Khubchand v beram (1888) 13 bom 150 AIR [2009] SC 84