Maharashtra National Law University Aurangabad

The Project of Law of Contracts-I

On

Liability for Necessaries Supplied to the Minor- A Legal Glossary

Submitted in: April, 2019

Course: B.A. LLB. (Hons.) Semester II
Under the guidance of Dr. Tanaya Tarai, O.S.D. (Academics &
Publication)

Done by: SOUMIKI GHOSH

Roll No- 10

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DECLARATION

I the undersigned solemnly declare that the project report on ''Liability for Necessaries
Supplied to the Minor- A Legal Glossary'' is based on my own work carried out during the
course of our study under the supervision of Dr Tanaya Tarai. I assert the statements made
and conclusions drawn are an outcome of my research work.

I further certify that:

I. The work contained in the report is original and has been done by me under the general
supervision of my supervisor.

II. The work has not been submitted to any other Institution for any other
degree/diploma/certiflcate in this university or any other University of India or abroad. ‘

III. We have followed the guidelines provided by the university in writing the report.

IV. Whenever we have used materials (data, theoretical analysis, and text) from other
sources, we have given due credit to them in the text of the report and giving their details in
the references.

Soumiki Ghosh, B.A.LL.B (Hons.) Sem-II (09)

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INTRODUCTION--

Research Methodology- This is an empirical research. This is a non doctrinal

research.

Hypothesis- What are Contracts?

What are the Essentials of Contracts?

What are Necessaries?

What is Liability for Necessaries?

What is the Nature of Liability?

Chapters--

Index
Name and no. Of the chapter Page
No.
Chapter 1: Introduction of Contrcts 3
Chapter 2: Meaning of Necessaries 4
Chapter 3: Nature of liability 10
Chapter 4: Contracts of Apprenticeship 12
Chapter 5: Conclusion 15
Chapter 6: Bibliography 17

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Introduction of Contracts-
Definition of Contract-- The term ''Contract'' is define in Section 2(h) of the Indian
Contract Act, 1872, as follows: 'An agreement enforceable by law is a contract.'' Thus for the
formation of a contract there must be 1) an agreement and 2) the agreement should be
enforceable by law.

Salmond- “A contract is an agreement creating and defining obligation between two or more
persons by which rights are acquired by one or more to acts or forbearance on the part of
others”.

Anson- “The law of contract is that branch of law which determine the circumstances in
which a promise shall be legally binding on the person making it’.

Now after examining the definitions of contract we can say that-

Contract = Agreement + Enforceability

Scope of Law of Contracts-- There are different forms of contracts. In fact contracts
have their own shapes and sizes. Contracts take different forms and shapes, as well as sizes.
Some contracts involve large sums of money, which others are designed for trivial sums.
Some contracts last for a long time while others have a relatively short period of existence.
The content of contracts varies depending on purpose of this or that contract.

Essentials of contracts-- According to Section 10 of Indian Contract Act, the essentials

are-

1. Offer and Acceptance

2. Intention to create a Legal relationship
3. Lawful Consideration
4. Competent parties
5. Free consent
6. Lawful Object
7. Not expressly declared void

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MEANING OF NECESARIES--

There is no defnition of the tem. ‘necessaries” in Indian Contract Act. An illustrative

statement of the meaning of the term is to be found in the judgment of ALDERSON B in
Cbapple v Cooper1 as follows-

''Things necessary are those without which an individual cannot reasonably exist. In the first
place, food, raiment, lodging and the like. About these there is no doubt. Again, as the proper
cultivation of the mind is as expedient as the support of the body, instruction in art or trade,
or intellectual, moral and religious education may be necessary also... Then the classes being
established, the subject and extent of the contract may vary according to the state and
condition of the infant himself. His clothes may be line or coarse according to his rank; his
education may vary according to the station he is to fill; and the medicines will depend on the
illness with which he is afflicted, and the extent of his probable means when of full age.... But
in all these cases it must first be made out that the class itself is one in which the things
furnished are essential to the existence and of reasonable advantage and comfort of the infant
contractor. Thus articles of mere luxury are always excluded, though luxurious articles of
utility are in some cases allowed.''
Thus, “what is necessary” is a relative fact to be determined with reference to the fortune and
circumstances of the particular minor; articles, therefore, that to one person might be mere
conveniences or matters of taste may, in the case of another, be considered necessaries, where
the usage society renders them proper for a person in the rank of life in which the infant
moves. The infant’s need of things may also sometimes depend upon the peculiar
circumstances under which they are purchased and the uses to which they are put.2 For
instance, articles purchased by an infant for his wedding may be deemed necessary, while
under ordinary circumstances the same articles may not be so considered. “... Wedding
presents for the bride of the infant may be necessaries.3 But where such marriage is forbidden
by law, the position will be different. Where “the funds are supplied to a minor for the
marriage of a minor female in the family the lender may be able to get himself reimbursed
from the property of the minor.”4 “The debt incurred for performing the funeral obsequies of
the father of a minor” is a necessary.''5Where a minor is involved in a litigation threatening

1
CHAPPLE VS COOPER 18(1844) 13 MNW 252
2
KUNWARAL DARYAV SINGH VS SURAJMAL MAKHANLAL AIR 1963 MP 58
3
JOGONRAM MARWARI VS MAHADEO RASAD SAHU ILR(1909) 10
4
(1844) 13 M&W 252, 258
5
TIKKILAL JITHU TELI VS KOMAL CHAND AIR 1940 NAG 327

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his property6 or liberty,7expenses reasonably incurred on his defence may be recovered from
his estate.
“In Peters v Fleming8 the court took judicial notice that it was prima facie not unreasonable
that an undergraduate at a college should have a watch and consequently a watch chain; and
that therefore it was a question of fact whether the watch chain supplied on credit was such as
was necessary to support himself properly in his degree. PARKE B says: ‘All such articles as
are purely ornamental are to be rejected, as they cannot be requisite for anyone.’ Possibly
there may be exceptional cases in which things purely ornamental may be necessary.''9The
burden lies upon the supplier to prove that the ornamental thing is especially necessary for
the minor. Thus, where a minor was supplied a pair of jewelled solitaires and an antique
goblet and though he moved in high society, he was held not liable as the plaintiff could not
prove that the articles were especially necessary for the minor.10
To render an infant’s estate liable for necessaries “two conditions must be satisfied, namely:
(1) the contract must be for goods reasonably necessary for his support in his station in life,
and (2) he must not have already a sufficient supply of these necessaries”. The supplier has to
prove, “not only that the goods supplied were suitable to the condition in life of the infant,
but that he was not sufficiently supplied with the goods of that class”. This is the principle of
Nash v Inman where an undergraduate in the Cambridge University, who was amply supplied
with proper clothes according to his position, was supplied by the plaintiff with a number of
dresses, including eleven fancy waistcoats, the price was held to be irrecoverable.

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KEDARNATH VS AJUDHIA PRASAD
7
SHYAM CHARAN MAL VS CHOUDHARY DEBYA SINGH PAH RAJ
8
WILLES J IN RYDER VS WOOMBWELL 1968
9
BUCKLEY LJ IN NASH VS INMAN
10
IMPERIAL LOAN CO V STONE 1892

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Nature of liability

There are two theories relating to the liability of a minor’s estate for necessaries. According
to one of the theories the liability does not depend upon the minor’s consent. It arises because
the necessaries have been supplied to him and is, therefore, quasi-contractual in nature. The
best statement of this theory is that of FLETCHER MOULTON L] in Nash v Inmate
“An infant, like a lunatic, is incapable of making a contract of purchase in strict sense of the
word; but if a man satisfies the needs of the infant or the lunatic by supplying to him
necessaries the law will imply an obligation to repay him for the services so rendered, and
will enforce that obligation against the estate of the infant or lunatic. The consequence is that
basis of the action is hardly contract. The real foundation is an obligation which the law
imposes on the infant to make a fair payment in respect of needs satisfied. In other words, the
obligation arises re and not consensu.
In India the subject has been dealt with in the chapter on ‘Certain Relations Resembling
Those Created by Contract”. The chapter provides for obligations of quasi-contractual nature.
Further, the liability is not personal, but is only that of the minor’s estate. Thus it has a very
little contractual element.
The other view of the liability in England is that it is contractual. An infant is not absolutely
destitute of contractual capacity. A contract for necessaries is just one of those categories of
contracts which an infant is permitted to make.

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CONTRACTS OF APPRENTICESHIP

Contracts of Apprenticeship is another species of contracts which are for the benefit of
minors. The well-known English case on the subject is Roberts v Gray.11
The defendant, an infant, agreed with the plaintiff, a noted billiards player, to join him in a
billiards-playing tour of the world. The plaintiff spent time and money in making
arrangements for billiards matches, but the defendant repudiated the contract. The plaintiff
succeeded in recovering damages for the breach of the contract.
The contract was held to be one for necessaries as it was for the infant’s “good teaching or
instruction whereby he may profit afterwards”. The most important part of the contract was
the instruction that would be received by the defendant from playing constantly with the
plaintiff under the conditions of a world wide tour, a thing which is distinguished billiards
player apparently contemplates as part of his career.

11
191 1 KB 520 (CA)

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Section 68 in The Indian Contract Act, 1872

Claim for necessaries supplied to person incapable of contracting, or on his account.—If a

person, incapable of entering into a contract, or any one whom he is legally bound to support,
is supplied by another person with necessaries suited to his condition in life, the person who
has furnished such supplies is entitled to be reimbursed from the property of such incapable
person.
llustrations
(a) A supplies B, a lunatic, with necessaries suitable to his condition in life. A is entitled to
be reimbursed from B’s property."
(b) A suplies the wife and children of B, a lunatic, with necessaries suitable to their condition
in life. A is entitled to be reimbursed from B’s property. (b) A suplies the wife and children
of B, a lunatic, with necessaries suitable to their condition in life. A is entitled to be
reimbursed from B’s property."

Quasi contract:-
A quasi-contract' is a legal substitute for a contract. A quasi-contract is a contract that
shouldhave been formed, even though in actuality it was not. It is used when a court wishes
to create anobligation upon a no contracting party to avoid injustice and to ensure fairness. It
is invoked incircumstances of unjust enrichment.Quasi-contracts are defined to be "the lawful
and purely voluntary acts of a man, from whichthere results any obligation whatever to a
third person, and sometime a reciprocal obligation between the parties." It "is not legitimately
done, but the terms are accepted and followed as ifthere is a legitimate contract.
The above Section covers the case of necessaries supplied to a person incapable of
contracting(say, a minor, lunatic, etc.) and to persons whom the incapable person is bound to
support (e.g.,his wife and minor children).However, following points should be carefully
noted:
(a)The goods supplied must be necessaries. What will constitute necessaries shall vary from
person to person depending upon the social status he enjoys.
(b)It is only the property of the incapable person that shall be liable. He cannot be
held liable personally. Thus, where he doesn‘t own any property, nothing shall be
payable.
Case: Benaras Ban Ltd v Dip Chand AIR 1936 All 172: - In this case it was held that a
creditor can recover monies advanced to a minor for necessaries. Necessaries have included

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money urgently needed for the requirement of the minor to save his property from being sold
for arrears of revenue, money advanced for repair of houses or for saving minors property
being sold forarrears.

Minor’s contract for necessaries

The rule of law is clearly established that an infant is generally incapable of binding himself
by a contract. But to this rule, there is an exception introduced not for the benefit of the trades
man who may trust the infant, but for that of the infant himself. This exception is that he may
make a contract for necessaries.
In the Indian Contract Act, section 68 provides that a minor falls within the class of persons
referred to in the section, and so, though he is not liable even for necessaries and no demand
in respect thereof is enforceable against him by law, a statutory claim is created thereby
against his property. But though the property of the minor may be liable for the necessaries
under section 68 of the Contract Act, the minor himself is not personally liable as in English
Law. Section 68will not apply where necessaries are supplied to a person or to someone
whom that person is bound to support when such person is competent to contract.

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CONCLUSION

The principle of quasi contract is often ignored but still it holds a very important place, since
the principle is grounded on the principles of justice and equity, despite the fact that Quasi
Contract is molded in the Indian Contract Act under a new name. However the basic nature
and essence of the principles remain the same without any drastic change. Thus quasi
contract forms an integral of the Contracts Act and it definitely comes to an aid of the victim
when the person enriched unjustly over the former. The rule of law is clearly established that
an infant is generally incapable of binding himself by a contract. But to this rule, there is an
exception introduced not for the benefit of the trades man who may trust the infant, but for
that of the infant himself. This exception is that he may make a contract for necessaries. That
is how this part of Indian Contract Act is most interesting one.

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BIBILIOGRAPHY
Dr. Justice Barukha G.C., Mulla on The Indian contract Act, Twelfth Edition,
Lexis NexisButterworths, Wadhwa Nagpur.
Cheshire, Fifoot&Furmstone, Law of Contract, 15th Edition, Oxford University Press.
Saharay, H.K. Dutt on Contract, Tenth Edition, Eastern Law House, Allahabad.

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