Question 3 (b)
Specific and unascertained goods; horse on sale or return dying during the trial period
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 3 (b) · 6 marksDistinguish between goods that are ‘Specific’ and ‘Unascertained’ goods’.
On a ‘Sale or return basis’, A delivered a horse to B. Under the agreement, B was to try the horse for 10 days and the return, should he not like the horse. On the third day, without any fault of B, the horse died. A sues B for the recovery of the price? Can he recover?
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- Can he recover…?A case problem: state the rule and its section, apply it to these facts, then answer in one line (yes or no, and why).
- (i)–(ii)2 items, each marked on its own: give each its share.
- Distinguish betweenSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.
What the paper leaves open
The only copy of this paper found is cut off at the right edge of the page; the few words lost there are read from the sense and from the Hindi version of the question. The mark for this part is not legible on the copy; it is reckoned here at 6 marks, the paper's own split for its other questions.
Write it in this order
The parts stand alone: start with the one you are surest of.
- Read the facts; underline who did what, and the exact question 1 min
- 1 (i) Specific and unascertained goods 2½ marks 4 min
- 2 (ii) Section 24 and the horse 3½ marks 6 min
- Check: section named, answer stated in one line 1 min
Short on time? A few lines on every part beat a full answer to one: each part is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 12 minutes for 6 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
(i) Specific and unascertained goods:
| Basis | Specific goods | Unascertained goods |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Goods identified and agreed upon at the time the contract of sale is made (s. 2(14)) | Goods defined only by description, not identified when the contract is made |
| Example | A particular car | 100 bags of wheat out of a godown |
| Passing of property | Can pass when the contract is made | Cannot pass until the goods are ascertained (s. 18) |
(ii) The horse. When goods are delivered on approval or on sale or return, the property passes to the buyer when he signifies his approval or does any other act adopting the transaction, or, if he retains the goods without giving notice of rejection, on the expiry of the time fixed for their return (s. 24). B had neither approved nor adopted the transaction, and the ten days had not expired when the horse died on the third day, without any fault of B. The property had therefore not passed to B, and the risk, which prima facie passes with the property, remained with A.
A cannot recover the price from B.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (i) Specific and unascertained goods | 2.5 |
| 2 | (ii) Section 24 and the horse | 3.5 |
| Total | 6 |
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