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Home / SPPU Syllabus / Law / LL.B. (Three Years) / First Year / Semester 1 / Law of Contract I

LL.B. (Three Years) Law of Contract I Syllabus - SPPU 2026

Law of Contract I Syllabus.pdf
Semester 1 · First Year · 4 credits

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Syllabus for Law of Contract I

Semester 1 · First Year · 4 credits

Objectives of the Course

  • Individuals, organisations, institutions, governments make countless contracts for effecting their transactions. They enjoy considerable freedom in devising the terms of their transactions, which they will decide through negotiations. The general principles that affect these contracts, and that allow their enforcement in case of breach, are given in Sections 1 – 75 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (ICA). Contract remedies are also provided in the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (SRA). These two laws form the main course for this subject.
  • This course is designed to acquaint a student with the general conceptual and practical principles of contract, rules for formation of contract, performance, and enforcement of contract remedies.

Module 01: Introduction & Formation of Contract

  • 1. Meaning, Nature and Scope of Contract
  • 2. Offer / Proposal: Definition, essential elements, Communication, Revocation, General/ Specific Offer, Invitation to Offer, Tenders and Auctions.
  • 3. Acceptance: Definition, essential elements, Communication, Revocation.
  • 4. Modes of Communication – Postal, Telephonic, Telex, E-mail and WhatsApp.
  • 5. Essential elements of a Valid Contract & Effect of Void, Voidable, Valid, Illegal, Unlawful Agreements
  • 6. Online Contracts and Standard & Printed Form of Contracts.

Module 02: Competency of Parties – Section 10 to 12 of ICA, 1872

  • 1. Age of majority under the Indian Majority Act 1875, Contracts with Minors, effect of contracting with a minor, the purpose of the law, liability for supply of necessaries: Section 68 of ICA, 1872.
  • 2. Soundness of mind for the purpose of making contracts, effect of unsoundness of mind on the contract.
  • 3. Legal disqualification – examples: Section 75 of the Patents Act, 1970, Section 75 of the Indian Forests Act, 1927, Section 130 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
  • 4. Competency of prisoners in jail, married women, aliens, insolvents.

Module 03: Free Consent - Sections 13 to 22, 64, 65, 67 of ICA, 1872

  • 1. Consent and Free Consent.
  • 2. Coercion and its effect on the contract: Sections 15 and 19 of Indian Contract Act, 1872
  • 3. Undue Influence and its effect on the contract, Pardanashin women unconscionable bargains: Sections 16 and 19A of Indian Contract Act, 1872.
  • 4. Misrepresentation and its effect on the contract: Sections 18 and 19 of Indian Contract Act, 1872
  • 5. Fraud and its effect on the contract: Sections 17 and 19 of Indian Contract Act, 1872.
  • 6. Mistake, mutual and common mistake, unilateral mistake, mistake of law and fact, its effect on the contract: Sections 20 - 22 of ICA, Section 26 of SRA, 1963.
  • 7. Remedies available to the party whose consent is not free: rescission, restoration - Sections 19, 19A, 67, 64, 65 of ICA,1872, Loss of right of rescission - Sections 25 and 28 of SRA, 1963.

Module 04: Consideration - Sections 2(d) ICA, 1872

  • 1. Definitions, meaning, importance and essential elements of Consideration.
  • 2. Act, forbearance and promise
  • 3. Present, past and future consideration
  • 4. Adequacy of consideration and effect of inadequacy
  • 5. No consideration, no contract, and exceptions to the rule
  • 6. Doctrine of Privity of Contract and its exceptions.

Module 05: Void Agreements - Sections 23 – 30 of ICA, 1872

  • 1. Unlawful agreements, circumstances in which agreements enforced even if unlawful: Sections 23-24, 57-58 of ICA,1872, Section 27 of SRA, 1963
  • 2. Void agreements: Restraint of marriage, trade and legal proceedings, uncertain agreements, wagering agreements: Sections 26 – 30 & 56 of ICA, 1872
  • 3. Effect of void and of unlawful agreements

Module 06: Contingent Contracts and Quasi-Contracts

  • 1. Contingent contracts and their enforcement - Sections 31 – 36 of ICA, 1872:
  • a) Definition of contingent contract, contingent and absolute obligations
  • b) Effect of happening & non-happening of event
  • c) Enforcement of contingent contracts
  • 2. Quasi-contracts - Sections 68-72, 73(Para 3) of ICA, 1872:
  • a) Five kinds of quasi-contracts stated in the Act – Sections 68-72 of ICA, 1872
  • b) Doctrine of Restitution
  • c) Effect of breach of quasi-contractual obligations

Module 07: Performance and Discharge of Contract

  • 1. Obligation to perform or offer to perform; who must perform, effect of death on personal contracts, rights and liabilities under a contract: Sections 37-41 of ICA, 1872
  • 2. Devolution of Joint rights and liabilities: Sections 42-45 of ICA
  • 3. Time & Place of performance, right to terminate if time is of essence of contract: Sections 46- 50, 55 of ICA, 1872
  • 4. Liability to pay interest for delay: under contract terms, under the Interest Act 1978
  • 5. Performance of Reciprocal promises, effect of non-performance of one of reciprocal promises; unilateral and bilateral promises: Sections 51 - 54 of ICA, 1872
  • 6. Appropriation of payments: Sections 59-61 of ICA, 1872. Discharge of a Contract:
  • 1. By performance; by offer of performance: Sections 38 of the ICA, 1872
  • 2. By non-performance by one party: 54 of ICA, 1872
  • 3. By breach of contract and rescission: Sections 39, 53, 55 of ICA, 1872
  • 4. Doctrine of impossibility and its effect: Section 56 of ICA
  • 5. By agreement: novation, alteration and rescission: Section 62 of ICA, 1872
  • 6. By act of promisee: dispensing, remission and waiver, extension of time, accord and satisfaction: Section 63 of ICA, 1872
  • 7. Termination or discharge under contract provisions.

Module 08: Contract Remedies

  • 1. Remedies under Contract Law:
  • a) Compensation (damages) Section 73-74 of ICA, 1872: - General and special, substantial and nominal, aggravated and punitive, liquidated and unliquidated and rules as to remoteness of damages
  • b) Claim in quantum meruit.
  • 2. Remedies under Specific Relief Act, 1963:
  • a) Specific performance:
  • • Cases in which it can and cannot be granted- Sections 10 and 14 of SRA, 1963
  • • Personal bars to relief - Section 16 of SRA, 1963
  • • Discretionary relief - Section 20 of SRA, 1963
  • • Who can claim specific performance - Section 15 of SRA, 1963
  • • Against whom can specific performance be claimed - Section 19 of SRA, 1963
  • • Claim for compensation and other reliefs in a suit for specific performance - Sections 21–24, 29 of SRA, 1963
  • • Defenses in suits of specific performance - Section 9 of SRA, 1963
  • • Rescission of a contract of which specific performance has been decreed - Section 28 of SRA, 1963
  • b) Injunctions in suits relating to contract:
  • • Discretionary relief - Section 36 of SRA, 1963
  • • Kinds - Temporary and perpetual, prohibitory and mandatory: Section 36- 37, 39 of SRA, 1963
  • • When can injunction be granted? - Section 38(1) and (2) of the SRA, 1963
  • • When will injunction not be granted? - Section 41 clauses (a), (b), (e), (g), (i), (j) of SRA, 1963
  • • Injunction to enforce negative covenants - Section 42 of SRA, 1963
  • • Claim for compensation in a suit for injunction. - Section 40 of SRA, 1963
  • c) Rescission - Sections 27, 30 of SRA, 1963
  • d) Rectification of instruments - Section 26 of SRA, 1963
  • e) Cancellation of instruments - Sections 31, 33 of SRA, 1963.

Recommended Readings

  • 1. Avtar Singh, Law of Contract and Specific Relief, 12th ed, 2017, Eastern Book Company.
  • 2. V. Kesava Rao, Contract I: Cases and Materials, 2nd ed, 2014, LexisNexis.
  • 3. Ritu Gupta, Law of Contract – includes the Specific Relief Act 1963, 2015, LexisNexis.
  • 4. Mulla, The Indian Contract Act, Anirudh Wadhwa ed., 15th ed., 2015, LexisNexis.
  • 5. M. Krishnan Nair, Law of Contracts, 1998.
  • 6. Garima Tiwari, Understanding Laws – Contracts, 2014, LexisNexis.
  • 7. Anson's Law of Contract, Beatson and Burrows ed. 29th ed., 2010, Oxford University Press.
  • 8. G.H. Treitel, Outline of Law of Contract, 6th rev ed, 2005, Oxford University Press.
  • 9. Atiyah’s Introduction to the Law of Contract, Stephen Smith ed., 2nd ed, 1997 Oxford University Press.
  • 10. Cheshire, Fifoot and Furmston’s Law of Contract, Michael Furmston ed., 16th ed, 2012, Oxford University Press.
  • 11. Pollock and Mulla’s Indian Contract Act, Nilima Bhadbhade ed., 14th updated edition, 2014, LexisNexis.
  • 12. Nilima Bhadbhade, Contract Law of India, 2nd ed 2009, Kluwer, available free on google books.
  • 13. Pollock and Mulla’s Specific Relief Act, Nilima Bhadbhade ed., 14th updated edition, 2014, LexisNexis.
  • 14. Nilima Bhadbhade, Specific Performance of Contracts: The Tests of Inadequacy and Effective Enforcement, 2014, LexisNexis.
  • 15. S C Banerjee, Law of Specific Relief: Tagore Law Lectures, 13th ed, 2015, LexisNexis.
  • 16. Sarkar on Specific Relief, Sudipto Sarkar and R Yasho Vardhan eds, 17th ed, 2016, LexisNexis.
  • 17. R K Singh, Law Relating to Electronic Contracts, 2nd ed, 2015, LexisNexis.
  • 18. Sachin Rastogi, Insights into E-Contracts in India, 2013, LexisNexis.

Reproduced from the Savitribai Phule Pune University Revised CBCS Rule and Syllabus for LL.B., the 2023 pattern as amended on 18 July 2024. Wording is as printed in that syllabus. Module numbering is as printed there too.

The complete syllabus

Every subject above is cut from the revised syllabus. Open the document here if you want the whole thing rather than a single subject.

PDF Complete LL.B. syllabus Revised syllabus (CBCS 2023 pattern), as amended on 18 July 2024 Read full PDF Read
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