Question 1

Bilateral and unilateral mistake of fact

18.75 marks

Time to write
About 38 minutes

From an older CBCS paper

Question

Question 1 · 18.75 marks

Q1 Where the parties to an agreement are both under a mistake( bilateral mistake) as to a matter of fact that is essential to the agreement, the agreement is void; where, however, the mistake is unilateral, it may be a void agreement, a voidable contract or a valid contract. Explain.

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

38 minfor 18.8 marks

Read from the question

  • ExplainA statement to explain: say what it means first, then build the answer around it.

What the paper leaves open

The paper prints no mark per question (any four of six, equal marks, 75 in all); each question is reckoned here at 18.75 marks.

Write it in this order

  1. Read; underline the asks; jot your points 2 min
  2. 1 Consent and mistake 3 marks 6 min
  3. 2 Bilateral mistake with cases 6 marks 12 min
  4. 3 Unilateral mistake: valid, void and voidable 7.8 marks 15 min
  5. 4 Conclusion 2 marks 1 min
  6. Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 2 min

Short on time? Trim steps 1–3 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks. End with step 4 in a line or two.

Try it first. About 38 minutes for 18.75 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.

Consent and mistake. Two or more persons “consent when they agree upon the same thing in the same sense” (s. 13). When the parties make a fundamental error as to the nature of the transaction, the person dealt with or the subject matter, they have not agreed upon the same thing in the same sense, and there is no consent; a contract cannot arise without consent. Mistake of fact is of two types, bilateral and unilateral.

Bilateral mistake (s. 20). “Where both the parties to an agreement are under a mistake as to a matter of fact essential to the agreement”, that agreement is void. Cases: mistake as to the quality, existence, identity, title, price or quantity of the subject matter. Where two persons contract about a particular ship and, misled by a similar name, each has a different ship in mind, no contract exists, as they were not ad idem.

Unilateral mistake. Where only one party is mistaken, the effect depends on the kind of mistake:

  1. Valid contract. “A contract is not voidable merely because it was caused by one of the parties” being under a mistake as to a matter of fact (s. 22). A buyer who overrates the goods he chooses to buy is bound.
  2. Void agreement. Where the mistake is so fundamental that there is no consent at all, as to the nature of the contract or the identity of the person dealt with, the parties have not agreed upon the same thing in the same sense, and no contract arises.
  3. Voidable contract. Where one party's mistake is caused by the other's fraud or misrepresentation, consent is not free, and the contract is voidable at the option of the party misled.

Conclusion. The statement is correct: a bilateral mistake of essential fact makes the agreement void, while a unilateral mistake leaves the contract valid, unless it is fundamental (void) or induced by the other party (voidable).

Where the 18.75 marks sit

#ComponentMarks
1Consent and mistake3
2Bilateral mistake with cases6
3Unilateral mistake: valid, void and voidable7.75
4Conclusion2
Total18.75
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