Question 1 (c)
Luxury clothes bought by a minor on credit; liability for necessaries
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
- Topic
- Capacity: minors
- Notes
- Crux notes
Question
Question 1 (c) · 6 marksKunal, a minor, bought six luxury clothes from Madhav Traders on credit. Later on, after the refusal from the Kunal to pay off the price for luxury clothes, Mr. Madhav filed a suit against the Mr. Kunal. Can the sum be recovered from Mr. Kunal? Also discuss the minor's liability for necessaries.
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 the sum…?A case problem: state the rule and its section, apply it to these facts, then answer in one line (yes or no, and why).
Write it in this order
A step that gives the answer away stays hidden: tap it to see it.
- Read the facts; underline who did what, and the exact question 1 min
- 1 Minor's agreement void; luxury clothes not necessaries 2 marks 4 min
- 2 Decision on recovery 1 mark 1 min
- 3 Liability for necessaries, with example 3 marks 5 min
- Check: section named, answer stated in one line 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 3 evenly rather than skip one: each 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.
Law. A minor (a person under 18) is not competent to contract (s. 11), and an agreement with or by a minor is void ab initio (Mohori Bibi v. Dharmo Das Ghose, 1903). The one claim allowed against him is for necessaries supplied to him (s. 68), and only his property is liable for it.
Application. Kunal is a minor, so his purchase on credit is void. Luxury clothes are not necessaries: necessaries cannot include luxuries or costly or unnecessary articles, and the test is utility, not ornament.
Decision. Mr. Madhav cannot recover the price from Kunal, either personally or out of his property.
Minor's liability for necessaries. Where necessaries are supplied to a minor, the supplier is entitled to be reimbursed from the minor's property (s. 68):
- there is no personal liability; only the minor's estate is liable;
- the minor is liable only for the value of the necessaries, never more than that, whatever price he promised;
- the goods must be reasonably necessary for his support in his station in life, and he must not already have a sufficient supply;
- necessaries include education and funeral expenses, judged by the minor's status in life.
For example, a minor who buys a ₹70,000 laptop on credit for her online classes, but whose assets are worth ₹20,000, can be made to pay only ₹20,000 out of those assets.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minor's agreement void; luxury clothes not necessaries | 2 |
| 2 | Decision on recovery | 1 |
| 3 | Liability for necessaries, with example | 3 |
| Total | 6 |
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