Contract is Not a Fair Bargain: A Critical Study in English and Indian Contexts

Abstract

We enter into contracts on day-to-day basis. Taking a seat in a bus, putting a coin in the slot of a weighing machine, taking food be it snacks or main course, all amount to entering into a contract. In such cases, we do not even realise that we are making a contract. In the case of people engaged in trade, commerce and industry, they carry on business by entering into contracts. Contract by its very elements of offer, acceptance, consideration, object and by virtue of being an agreement enforceable by law is by and large, seen as a fair bargain. However, like every coin, there are limitations arising due to several circumstances when contract cannot be termed as a fair bargain. This article will dwell on the negative side of contracts, i.e. contract is not a fair bargain. In other words, the prime exceptions of contract as fair bargain, i.e. inequality in bargaining power, doctrines of duress and undue influence and standard form contracts will be covered in this article.

Keywords: Fair Bargain, Inequality of Bargaining Power, Duress, Undue Influence, Lord Denning, Standard Form Contracts, Central Inland Water Transport Corp. vs. Brojo Nath Ganguly