Section 3: Communication, Acceptance, and Revocation
Legal Text: “The communication of proposals, the acceptance… and the revocation… are deemed to be made by any act or omission… by which he intends to communicate… or which has the effect of communicating it.”
Simple English: To make an offer, accept an offer, or take back (revoke) an offer, you have to do something that communicates your intention. This can be an obvious act (like speaking, sending an email) or sometimes an omission (a failure to act, when you have a duty to act).
Practical Example (Act): Sending a text message “Want to buy my laptop for ₹15,000?” is an act communicating an offer.
Practical Example (Omission): Your streaming service says, “Your subscription will auto-renew for ₹199 on the 30th unless you cancel.” By not doing anything (omitting to cancel), you are communicating your acceptance to pay for another month.
Section 4: Communication When Complete
This is a critical section that explains the exact moment a message becomes legally binding. This is often called the “postal rule.”
Communication of a Proposal (Offer):
Legal Text: “…is complete when it comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made.”
Simple English: An offer is not “live” until the other person receives and understands it.
Practical Example: You mail a letter on Monday offering to sell me your land. I receive and read the letter on Wednesday. The offer is only complete on Wednesday.
Communication of an Acceptance:
Legal Text (As against the Proposer): “…is complete as against the proposer, when it is put in a course of transmission to him, so as to be out of the power of the acceptor;”
Simple English: The second the accepting person sends their “yes” (e.g., drops the letter in the postbox, hits ‘send’ on the email), the proposer (the one who made the offer) is bound by the contract. This is true even if the letter gets lost in the mail.
Practical Example:
You (Proposer) offer to sell me land.
On Tuesday at 10 AM, I (Acceptor) post a letter saying “I accept.”
At 10 AM on Tuesday, you are bound. You cannot sell the land to anyone else, even though you haven’t received my letter yet.
Legal Text (As against the Acceptor): “…is complete as against the acceptor, when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer.”
Simple English: The acceptor (the person who said “yes”) is not bound by their own acceptance until the proposer receives it. This rule exists to give the acceptor a chance to change their mind, if they can do it faster.
Practical Example:
I post my acceptance letter on Tuesday. You receive it on Thursday.
I am only legally bound by my “yes” on Thursday.
This means if I changed my mind, I could have sent a faster message (like a text or email) on Wednesday to revoke my acceptance, and that would be valid.
Communication of a Revocation (Taking it back):
Legal Text: A revocation is complete…
“…as against the person who makes it, when it is put into a course of transmission…”
“…as against the person to whom it is made, when it comes to his knowledge.”
Simple English: This is a two-part rule:
For the Revoker: The moment you send your revocation (e.g., send the email), you are bound by it and cannot un-revoke.
For the Receiver: Your revocation does not count against the other person until they receive it.
Practical Example:
Monday: You send me an offer to sell your bike.
Tuesday 10 AM: You change your mind and post a letter revoking the offer.
Tuesday 11 AM: I, not having received your revocation, post a letter accepting your offer.
Result: You have a valid contract. Your revocation was too late. Even though you sent it at 10 AM, it didn’t reach me before I accepted at 11 AM. My acceptance, under the postal rule, was complete (against you) at 11 AM.
Section 5: Revocation of Proposals and Acceptances
This section defines the window of time you have to revoke.
Revocation of a Proposal (Offer):
Legal Text: “A proposal may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete as against the proposer, but not afterwards.”
Simple English: You can take back your offer at any moment… right up until the exact second the other person puts their acceptance into the course of transmission (e.g., posts the letter).
Practical Example: You offer to sell me your car. You can call me and revoke that offer at any time. But if I post my acceptance letter at 10:00 AM, and you call me to revoke at 10:01 AM, your revocation is too late. We have a contract.
Revocation of an Acceptance:
Legal Text: “An acceptance may be revoked at any time before the communication of the acceptance is complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards.”
Simple English: You can take back your “yes” only if your revocation message reaches the other person before (or at the same time as) your original “yes” message.
Practical Example:
Monday: I post a letter accepting your offer to buy your car.
Tuesday: I regret it, so I send an email (which is faster) saying “I revoke my acceptance.”
Wednesday: You receive my email (the revocation).
Thursday: You receive my original letter (the acceptance).
Result: There is no contract. My revocation reached you first.
Section 6: Revocation How Made
This section lists the four ways an offer officially “dies” or is revoked.
Section 6(1): By notice of revocation
Legal Text: “by the communication of notice of revocation by the proposer to the other party;”
Simple English: The person who made the offer simply tells the other person, “I’m taking the offer back.”
Practical Example: “I offered to sell you my watch yesterday for ₹5,000. I’m sorry, but I revoke that offer.” The offer is now dead.
Section 6(2): By lapse of time
Legal Text: “by the lapse of the time prescribed… or, if no time is so prescribed, by the lapse of a reasonable time…”
Simple English: The offer expires. This happens if (a) a set deadline passes, or (b) if no deadline was set, a “reasonable” amount of time passes.
Practical Example (Prescribed): A “Black Friday Sale” poster says “Offer valid only on Friday, November 24th.” If you try to accept on Saturday, the offer is dead.
Practical Example (Reasonable): Someone offers to sell you fresh strawberries. You can’t come back three weeks later to accept. A “reasonable” time for perishable goods is very short. An offer to sell land might be “reasonable” for a few weeks.
Section 6(3): By failure to fulfill a condition
Legal Text: “by the failure of the acceptor to fulfil a condition precedent to acceptance;”
Simple English: The offer had a condition, and the other person failed to meet it.
Practical Example: “I will sell you my apartment if you can get a bank loan approved by March 31st.” If you don’t get the loan by that date, the offer is automatically revoked.
Section 6(4): By death or insanity
Legal Text: “by the death or insanity of the proposer, if the fact of his death or insanity comes to the knowledge of the acceptor before acceptance.”
Simple English: The person who made the offer dies or becomes legally insane.
Important Detail: This only kills the offer if the other person finds out about the death/insanity before they accept.
Practical Example: Your neighbor offers to sell you his lawnmower. Before you reply, he has a heart attack and dies. His wife tells you the sad news. The offer is now dead. You cannot “accept” the offer by telling his wife you still want it.
Section 7: Acceptance Must be Absolute
This section explains what counts as a valid “yes.”
Section 7(1): Must be absolute and unqualified
Legal Text: “In order to convert a proposal into a promise, the acceptance must… be absolute and unqualified;”
Simple English: Your “yes” must be a perfect mirror of the offer. You cannot change any of the terms. If you change anything, it’s not an acceptance—it’s a “counter-offer,” which kills the original offer.
Practical Example (Invalid):
Offer: “I’ll sell you my house for ₹1 crore.”
Reply: “I accept, but you must include the furniture.”
Result: This is not an acceptance. It’s a counter-offer. The original offer is now dead.
Practical Example (Valid):
Offer: “I’ll sell you my house for ₹1 crore.”
Reply: “I accept.”
Result: This is a valid acceptance.
Section 7(2): Must be in the prescribed manner
Legal Text: “…be expressed in some usual and reasonable manner, unless the proposal prescribes the manner in which it is to be accepted.”
Simple English: You must say “yes” in a normal way (email, phone, in person) unless the offer demands a specific method.
Practical Example (Prescribed): A tender document states, “To accept, you must submit your bid using the official online portal by 5 PM.” If you send your bid by email, it is not a valid acceptance.
The “Waiver” Clause: The text also says if the acceptance is not in the prescribed manner, the proposer must insist on the correct manner “within a reasonable time.” If they fail to do so, “he accepts the acceptance.”
Practical Example (Waiver): The offer says “Reply by post only.” You reply by email. If the offeror replies to your email saying “Great, we have a deal,” they have “waived” their own condition and cannot later complain you didn’t send a letter.
Section 8: Acceptance by Performing Conditions
Legal Text: “Performance of the conditions of a proposal, or the acceptance of any consideration for a reciprocal promise… is an acceptance of the proposal.”
Simple English: You can accept an offer without saying a word. You can accept it simply by doing what the offer asks for. This is “acceptance by conduct.”
Practical Example (Performing Conditions): A “Lost Dog” poster offers a ₹5,000 reward. You don’t need to call the owner and say, “I officially accept your offer to look for the dog.” You just find the dog and bring it back. The act of returning the dog is your acceptance.
Practical Example (Accepting Consideration): A company sends you a “free trial” product with a note: “If you keep this product past 7 days, you agree to be charged ₹1,000.” By keeping the product (accepting the consideration) and not returning it, you are accepting the offer.
Section 9: Promises, Express and Implied
Express Promise:
Legal Text: “In so far as the proposal or acceptance… is made in words, the promise is said to be express.”
Simple English: An “express” promise is stated clearly in words (spoken or written).
Practical Example: “I promise to pay you a salary of ₹40,000 per month.” This is written in your employment letter.
Implied Promise:
Legal Text: “In so far as such proposal or acceptance is made otherwise than in words, the promise is said to be implied.”
Simple English: An “implied” promise isn’t said or written, but it’s understood by everyone’s actions and the situation.Practical Example: You walk into a restaurant and order food. You haven’t said “I promise to pay for this food.” But your action of ordering creates an implied promise that you will pay the bill.