“AN AGREEMENT IS NULL AND VOID IN THE EVENT OF UNCERTAINTY”

 “AN AGREEMENT IS NULL AND VOID IN THE EVENT OF UNCERTAINTY”

Author:-  Bhumika Tulsyani, a Student of NMIMS indore campus

 •WHAT EXACTLY IS AN AGREEMENT? 

"Every promise and every group of promises comprising the consideration for each other in an agreement," as stated in Section 2(e)1 . 

∙ WHAT IS VOID?

 When it is determined that a contract cannot be carried out in its written form, the contract is said to be null and invalid. Void. When one of the parties to the agreement is unable to comprehend the repercussions of the agreement in its entirety, the contract is considered null and invalid. A legal agreement that does not have any legal effect or is not enforceable by law is considered to be invalid, and this kind of agreement is also known as a void contract. This implies that the agreement is regarded to be invalid from the very beginning, as if it had never been made in the first place. For instance, a mentally sick individual or an intoxicated person may not be clear enough to grasp the provisions of the agreement, which would declare the agreement null and void. In addition, agreements made by children may not be upheld in court; despite this, certain contracts involving minors who have the backing of an adult figure, such a parent or a guardian, could be lawful and enforceable. Equally deemed void is any business agreement between two parties that was created with the intention of doing illegal conduct. Due to the fact that the behaviour that is agreed upon is unlawful, for instance, a contract that is made between an illegal drug supplier and a drug dealer cannot be upheld after it has been established. 

• SECTION 29 

The Indian Contract Act of 1872 has a section titled “Section 292”. According to the provisions of this section, a contract is deemed invalid if the terms of the contract are so ambiguous or confusing that it is impossible to ascertain the duties and rights of the parties concerned. According to the passage, a commitment to carry out an action that is impossible in and of itself is invalid. This indicates that the agreement is not enforceable if it involves a behaviour that is either physically impossible or goes against the laws of nature. In addition, another provision of the section specifies that "any agreement by which someone is restricted from conducting a legitimate profession, trade, or business of any type, is to that extent unlawful." This provision is null and void. This indicates that a contract that prevents a person from engaging in a legitimate profession, trade, or business is unenforceable and cannot be upheld by a court. In conclusion, Section 29 of the Indian Contract Act guarantees that agreements that are unclear or include activities that are impossible to carry out are not enforceable and are consequently void. This protects parties from being duped into entering into invalid contracts. 

∙ WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO HAVE CERTAINTY? 

Uncertainty might arise as a result of an agreement's wording, which may be difficult to understand, ambiguous, or inadequate. In order to guarantee that the terms and conditions of an agreement are crystal clear and free of any ambiguity, certainties must be met before an agreement can be considered valid. 3 Illustration (a),(b) and (c) respectively, to Section 29 7 This not only helps to guarantee that there are no misunderstandings or disagreements between the parties involved, but it also helps to ensure that the agreement is legally binding and enforceable. According to the rule, there is no legally binding contract that can be enforced if the terms of an agreement are vague or ambiguous and it is impossible to ascertain with a reasonable degree of confidence what the parties intended when they entered into the agreement. In the event that this is not even remotely possible, the contract will no longer be enforceable. As was demonstrated in the case of "Kalyan Singh v. Ranjot Singh,"4 there was an agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant for the sale of barberry roots to the defendant for a sum of Rs. 37000/-, there was payment through cheque for Rs. 37,000/-, and there was a payment of Rs. 37,000/- by the defendant – purchaser against an alleged undertaking by the purchaser that he would not enforce the payment of the cheque until goods were received. The aforementioned check was returned unpaid because there were insufficient funds. In this case, the issue that has to be answered is whether or not there was a legitimate contract that the payment was made against. Because there was some degree of ambiguity surrounding the time frame in which the whole amount of the check was to be received, it was decided that the agreement should be considered null and invalid in accordance with section 29. This demonstrates that there must be absolute certainty in a contract. The parties to an agreement are able to collaborate in order to explain the terms and conditions of the agreement if the terms and conditions of the contract are ambiguous but may be made definite with some explanation. If the meaning of the contract can be ascertained with a level of reasonable clarity, then the contract may be granted legal force. As was shown in the case "Bahadur Singh v. Fuleshwar Singh,"5 anything that is just difficult to comprehend will not be considered unclear. A contract is not considered void just because there is some ambiguity or misunderstanding in it, provided that such issues are readily resolved by accurate interpretation.