Question 1 (b)
Minor who borrowed by misrepresenting his age: recovery and the lender's remedies
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
- Topic
- Capacity: minors
- Notes
- Crux notes
Question
Question 1 (b) · 6 marksMisrepresenting his age as 21 years, a minor takes a loan of 40000 at 12% interest. Can the lender recover this loan from the minor, since he presented himself as a major. What other remedies does the Lender have.
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 lender…?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; no estoppel 3 marks 5 min
- 2 Remedies: restitution and necessaries; conclusion 3 marks 5 min
- Check: section named, answer stated in one line 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 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.
- Void ab initio. An agreement with a minor is void ab initio, that is, from the start; in the leading case the contract was held void and the minor was not liable to pay anything to the lender.
- No estoppel. A minor may always plead minority, even where he obtained the loan by falsely representing himself to be of full age.
- Repayment of what remains. If the minor has not spent the money, he may be asked to repay it; but he is not liable for any amount he has already spent, even though it was obtained by fraud.
- Necessaries. A lender who supplies money for necessaries suited to the minor's condition in life can recover it from the minor's property (s. 68), though the minor is not personally liable; and a minor's agreement cannot be specifically enforced.
Application. The minor's loan agreement for 40000 at 12% interest is void although he said he was 21 and presented himself as a major; his misrepresentation does not stop him from pleading minority. The lender cannot sue on the agreement for the principal or the interest.
1Sixteen-year-old Dev, school bag still on, signs for a new cycle on credit.
Section 11A person who has not attained the age of majority (18 years) is not competent to contract.
2In court, the seller throws up his hands: the law never counted Dev's signature.
Agreement is voidThe minor cannot be made to repay as on a contract.
3Dev had claimed to be older—so the judge makes him return the cycle he still holds, and nothing more.
RestitutionWhere a minor obtains property or money by falsely representing himself to be a major, the court may, on equitable grounds, order him to restore what he still holds; he is not liable for any amount he has already spent.
- He may ask that the minor be made to repay so much of the money as he has not spent; amounts already spent cannot be recovered.
- If the money was supplied for necessaries suited to the minor's condition, he may recover a reasonable amount out of the minor's property.
Conclusion. The loan cannot be recovered from the minor as a debt; the lender is limited to the repayment of what the minor has not spent and to a claim against his property for necessaries, if the money went on them.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minor's agreement void; no estoppel | 3 |
| 2 | Remedies: restitution and necessaries; conclusion | 3 |
| Total | 6 |
Report a problemopens an email to admin@getkunji.com with the question ID202-Q1balready filled in.