INDIAN CONTRACT ACT,

1871

CONTRACT
Contracts
Contract sec2(h)- An agreement enforceable
by law is a contract.
Agreement sec 2(b)- Every promise and every
set of promise forming the consideration for
each other.
Promise an accepted proposal.
Proposal A proposal when accepted becomes
a promise.

AGREEMENT

All agreements are contracts if they are made

by the free consent of parties competent to
contract, for a lawful consideration and with a
lawful object, and are not hereby expressly
declared to be void.
Conditions of valid contract1) Consideration
2) Parties competent to contract
3) Free consent
4) Object lawful

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A
VALID CONTRACT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Proposal & Acceptance.

Consideration.
Capacity of parties to contract.
Free Consent.
Agreement should not be expressly declared
void.
6. Writing & Registration, if so required by law.
7. Legal Relationship.
8. Certainty.
9. Possibility of Performance.
10. Enforceable by law.

PROPOSAL
Proposal

- When one person signifies to

another his willingness to do or to abstain
from doing anything, with a view to obtaining
the assent of that other to such act or
abstinence, he is said to make a proposal.
An offer which is expressed by conduct is called
an implied offer and the one which is expressed
by words written or spoken, is called an express
offer.
Promises are also express or implied.
Case- Upton Rural District Council v. Powell

Communication of proposal is complete

when it comes to the knowledge of person
to whom it is made. Lalman v. Gauri Dutt

IMPLIED
OFFER

EXPRESS
OFFER

INTENTION TO MAKE CONTRACT

English law- to create a contract there must be

a common intention of the parties to enter into
a legal obligation. No provision in the ICA.
Case- Balfour v. Balfour
Intention of parties is naturally to be
ascertained from the terms of the agreement
and surrounding circumstances.
What matters is not what the parties had in
mind , but what a reasonable person would
think, in the circumstances, their intention to
be.

OFFER AND INVITATION

General offer- an offer can be made to world at

large.
Case- Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.

Invitation to offer -Where a party, without

expressing his final willingness, proposes

certain terms on which he is willing to
negotiate, he does not make an offer, but only
invites the other party to make an offer on
those terms.
Case- Harvey v. Facey
Shopkeepers catalogue of prices is only an
invitation to offer.
Announcement of auctions.

ESSENTIALS OF PROPOSAL
1.

2.
3.
a)
b)

Offer must be such as in law capable

of being accepted and giving rise to
legal relationship.
Terms of offer must be definite,
unambiguous and certain.
An offer may be distinguished from:
A declaration of intention and an
announcement.
An invitation to make an offer or do
business.

CONTINUED
4.

5.
6.

Offer must be communicated.

Lalman Dutta V. Gauri Shukla
Offer must be made with a view of
getting assent.
A statement of price is not an offer.
Harvey V. Facey

ACCEPTANCE

When one person to whom the proposal

is made signifies his assent thereto, the
proposal is said to be accepted.
Proposal when accepted becomes
promise.
The person making the proposal is
called the Promisor and person
accepting the proposal becomes
Promisee.
Case- Brogden v.Metropolitan Railway
Co.

.
ESSENTIALS OF ACCEPTANCE
1. Acceptance must be absolute and unqualified.
2. It must be expressed in some usual &
reasonable manner.
3. Mental Acceptance is not sufficient in Law.
4. Acceptance must be communicated to the
offeror.
5. Acceptance must be by a certain person.
6. Acceptance must be given within a reasonable
time.
Case- Adam v. Lindsell
7. Acceptance must be given before the offer
lapses or is revoked or is withdrawn.
8.Acceptance of proposal is acceptance of all
terms.

COMMUNICATION OF AN ACCEPTANCE
The communication of an acceptance is
complete, as against the proposer, when it is put in a
course of transmission to him, so as to be
out of the power of the acceptor;
as against the acceptor, when it comes to
the, knowledge, of the proposer.
Eg : B accepts A's proposal by a letter sent
by post. The communication of the
acceptance is complete, as against A when
the letter is posted as against B, when the
letter is received by A.

REVOCATION OF PROPOSALS
AND ACCEPTANCES
Revocation of proposals and acceptances.

A proposal may be revoked at any time before the

communication of its acceptance is complete as against
the proposer, but not afterwards.

An acceptance may be revoked at any time

before the communication of the acceptance is
complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards

REVOCATION HOW MADE

By the communication of notice of revocation
by the proposer to the other party;
By the lapse of time prescribed in such proposal
for its acceptance or, if no time is so prescribed,
by the lapse of a reasonable time, without
communication of the acceptance;
By the failure of the acceptor to fulfill a
condition precedent to acceptance; or
By the death or insanity of the proposer, if the
fact or death comes to the knowledge of the
acceptor before acceptance.
Case- Henthorn v. Fraser

REVOCATION OF ACCEPTANCE

In English Law acceptance once made is

irrevocable, applies to postal acceptance.

In Indian Law, acceptance is generally

revocable.

Hence the communication of revocation must

reach earlier than the acceptance.

CONSIDERATION

An agreement without consideration is void,

Sec25 ICA.
Sec 2(d) When a the desire of the
promisor, the promisee or any other person
has done or abstained from doing or does
or abstains from doing, or promises to do or
to abstain from doing, something, such act
or abstinence or promise is called a
consideration for the promise.
A) at the desire of the of the promisor
Case law- Durga Prasad v. Baldeo

CONSIDERATION

Privity of contract- promisee or any other

person.
Dutton v. Poole
Tweddle v. Atkinson
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. v. Selfridge &
Co.

EXCEPTIONS TO PRIVITY OF CONTRACT

1)Beneficiaries under Trust or Charge or other

arrangements.
Khwaja Muhammad Khan v. Hussaini Begum
Gregory and Parker v. Williams
2) Marriage settlement, partition or other family
arrangements.
Daropati v. Jaspat Rai
3)Acknowledgement by estoppel
Devaraja Urs v. Ram Krishnaiah
Covenants running with land
Smith & Snipes Hall Farm Ltd v. River Douglas
Catchment Board

PAST CONSIDERATION

Past consideration is no consideration.

Exceptions
1) Past voluntary service
2) Past service at request

EXCEPTIONS TO CONSIDERATION

Sec 25
1) Natural love and affection
2) Past voluntary service
3) Time barred debt

CAPACITY OF PARTIES TO
CONTRACT
An agreement becomes a contract if it is
entered between the parties who are
competent to Contract.
Sec. 11 Every person is Competent to
contract
1. Who is of the age of majority according
to the law.
2. Who is of sound mind.
3. Who is not disqualified by any law.

Capacity of parties

Minor

Idiots

Allien
Enemie
s

Persons of Unsound
Mind
Lunatics or
Insane
Persons

Foreign
Sovereigns
&
Ambassado
rs

Drunkard
s

Convict
s

Marrie
d
Wome
n

Disqualified
Persons

Intoxicate
d Persons

Insolven
t

Corporatio
ns

CAPACITY TO CONTRACT
Minor (sec.11)
A. Agreement void-ab-initio
. Mohoribibi v. Dharmodas Ghosh

B.
.

C.
.

D.
.

Minor may be a Promisee or Beneficiary

Sharaf Ali v. Noor Mohd.
A minor can always plead minority
Leslie v. Sheill
No Ratification
Armugan v. Duraisinga

Contract with Minors Guardian

Minor as an Agent
Minor a partner
Surety for a minor
Insolvency
Position of Minors Parents.
Sec 64 and 65 do not apply(void
agreement)
Minor as a Shareholder of a company
Employment/Service Agreement for
Minor

Effect of minors agreement:

1)No estoppel against minor.
2) No liability in contract or tort arising out
of contract.
3) Doctrine of restitution.
Leslie v. Sheill
Khan Gul v. Lakha Singh

Liability for necessaries (sec. 68)

CAPACITY TO CONTRACT

Unsound mind

English law- CONTRACT IS VOIDABLE

Indian law (SEC. 12) - CONTRACT IS
VOID
Inder Singh v. Parmeshwari Singh

FREE CONSENT
"Free consent ( Sec. 14) - Consent is
said to be free when it is not caused
by
1) coercion,
2) undue influence
3) fraud,
4) misrepresentation,
5) mistake.
Consent is said to be so caused when it
would not have been given but for the
existence of such coercion, undue
influence, fraud, misrepresentation or
mistake.
28

COERCION

Sec. 15- Coercion is the committing, or

threatening to commit, any act forbidden
by the Indian Penal Code, or the unlawful
detaining, or threatening to detain, any
property, to the prejudice of any person
whatever, with the intention of causing
any person to enter into an agreement.
Eg - A, on board an English ship on the high
seas, causes B to enter into an
agreement by an act amounting to
criminal intimidation under the Indian
Penal Code.
30

COERCION

Techniques
1) committing or threatening to commit
any act forbidden by the IPC; or
2) unlawfully detaining or threatening to
detain any property.
Aksari Mirza v. Bibi Jai Kishore
Chikam Amiraju v. Chikam Seshamma

UNDUE INFLUENCE

Sec. 16- A contract is said to be induced by

"undue influence where the relations
subsisting between the parties are such
that one of the parties is in a position to
dominate the will of the other and uses
that position to obtain an unfair
advantage over the other.
Eg - A had given advance money to his son B
during his minority, upon B's coming of
age obtains, by misuse of parental
influence, a bond from B for a greater
amount than the sum due in respect of
the advance. Here A employs undue
influence.
33

CONTINUED

Illustrations
(b) A, a man enfeebled by disease or age, is induced,
by B's influence over him as his medical attendant,
to agree to pay B an unreasonable sum for his
professional services. B employs undue influence.
(c) A, being in debt to B, the money-lender of his
village, contracts a fresh loan on terms which appear
to be unconscionable. It lies on B to prove that the
contract was not induced by undue influence.
(d) A applies to a banker for a loan at a time when
there is stringency in the money market. The banker
declines to make the loan except at an unusually
high rate of interest. A accepts the loan on these
terms. This is a transaction in the ordinary course of
business, and the contract is not induced by undue
influence.

UNDUE INFLUENCE

Williams v. Bailey
Real or apparent authority
Fiduciary relation
Mental distress

 FRAUD
Sec. 17 -"Fraud" means and includes any
of the following acts committed by a party
to a contract, or with his connivance, or by
his agent, with intent to deceive another
party thereto of his agent, or to induce
him to enter into the contract
1) the suggestion, as a fact, of that which
is not true, by one who does not believe it
to be true;
37

CONTINUED
2)The active concealment of a fact by
one
having knowledge or belief of the fact.
3)A promise made without any intention
of performing.
4)Any other act fitted to deceive;
5)Any such act or omission as the law
specially declares to be fraudulent.

38

CONTINUED

Illustrations (a) A sells, by auction, to B, a horse

which A knows to be unsound. A says nothing to B
about the horse's unsoundness. This is not fraud in
A.
(b) B is A's daughter and has just come of age.
Here, the relation between the parties would make
it A's duty to tell B if the horse, is unsound.
(c) B says to A - "If you do not deny it, I shall
assume that the horse is sound." A says nothing.
Here, A's silence is equivalent to speech.
(d) A and B, being traders, enter upon a contract. A
has private information of a change in prices which
would affect B's willingness to proceed with the
contract. A is not bound to inform B.

CONTINUED

Active concealment
Mere silence no fraud
1) duty to speak
2) where silence is deceptive
3) change of circumstances
4) half truths

MISREPRESENTATION
Sec.18-"Misrepresentation" means and
includes
1) the positive assertion, in a manner not
warranted by the information of the person
making it, of that which is not true, though
he believes it to be true.
2) any breach of duty which, without an
intent to deceive, gains an advantage to
the person committing it, or any one
claiming under him, by misleading another
to his prejudice or to the prejudice of any
one claiming under him.
42

CONTINUED
3) causing, however innocently, a party to an
agreement to make a mistake as to the
substance of the thing which is the subject of
the agreement.
Types
1) Unwarranted statements- Bombay Case
2) Breach of duty
3) Inducing mistake about subject- matter
Suppression -of vital facts
-of material facts

43

VOIDABILITY OF AGREEMENTS

19- Voidability of agreements without free consent When

consent to an agreement is caused by coercion, fraud or
misrepresentation, the agreement is a contract voidable at
the option of the party whose consent was so caused. A
party to a contract whose consent was caused by fraud or
misrepresentation, may, if he thinks fit, insist that the
contract hall be performed and that he shall be put in the
position in which he would have been if the representations
made had been true.
Exception.- If such consent was caused by
misrepresentation or by silence, fraudulent within the
meaning of section 17, the contract, nevertheless is not
voidable, if the party whose consent was so caused had the
means of discovering the truth with ordinary diligence.
Explanation.- A fraud or misrepresentation which did not
cause the consent to a contract of the party on whom such
fraud was practiced, or to whom such misrepresentation
was made, does not render a contract voidable.

CONTINUED

Illustrations (a) A, intending to deceive B, falsely

represents that five hundred mounds of indigo are made
annually at A's factory, and thereby induces B to buy the
factory. The contract is voidable at the option of B. (b)
A, by a misrepresentation, leads B erroneously to believe
that, five hundred mounds of indigo are made annually at
A's factory. B examines the accounts of the factory, which
show that only four hundred mounds of indigo have been
made. After this B buys the factory. The contract is not
voidable on account of A's misrepresentation. (c) A
fraudulently informs B that A's estate is free from
incumbrance. B thereupon buys the estate. The estate is
subject to a mortgage. B may either avoid the contract, or
may insist on its being carried out and the mortgage debt
redeemed. (d) B, having discovered a vein of ore on the
estate of A, adopts means to conceal, and does conceal,
the existence of the ore from A. Through A's ignorance B is
enabled to buy the estate at an under-value. The contract
is voidable at the option of A. (e) A is entitled to
succeed to an estate at the death of B; B dies: C, having
received intelligence of B's death, prevents the

CONTINUED

19A. Power to set aside contract induced by undue

influence When consent to an agreement is caused
by undue influence, the agreement is a contract voidable
at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.
Any such contract may be set aside either absolutely or,
if the party who was entitled to avoid it has received any
benefit there under, upon such terms and conditions as
to the Court may seem just.

Illustrations (a) A's son has forged B's name to a

promissory note. B, under threat of prosecuting A's son,
obtains a bond from A for the amount of the forged note.
If B sues on this bond, the Court may set the bond aside.
(b) A, a money-lender, advances Rs.100 to B, an
agriculturist, and, by undue influence, induces B to
execute a bond for Rs. 200 with interest at 6 per cent. per
month. The Court may set the bond aside, ordering B to
repay the Rs. 100 with such interest as may seem just.
Agreement void where both parties are under mistake as
to matter of fact.

MISTAKE

Where both the parties to an agreement are under a

mistake as to a matter of fact essential to the
agreement the agreement is void.
Explanation.An erroneous opinion as to the value
of the thing which forms the subject-matter of the
agreement, is not to be deemed a mistake as to a
matter of fact.
Illustrations
(a) A agrees to sell to B a specific cargo of goods
supposed to be on its way from England to Bombay.
It turns out that, before the day of the bargain the
ship conveying the cargo had been cast away and
the goods lost. Neither party was aware of these
facts. The agreement is void.
(b) A agrees to buy from B a certain horse. It turns
out that the horse was dead at the time of the
bargain, though neither party was aware of the fact.
The agreement is void.

CONTINUED

(c) A, being entitled to an estate for the

life of B, agrees to sell it to C, B was dead at
the time of agreement, but both parties
were ignorant of the fact. The agreement is
void.
COMMENTS
Mistake
There can be a mistake of identity only
when a person bearing a particular identity
exists within the knowledge of the plaintiff
and the plaintiff intends to deal with him
only; Kings Nortan Metal Co. v. Edridge,
Merrett & Co., (1897) 14 TLR 98 (CA).

CONTINUED

21. Effect of mistake as to law

A contract is not voidable because it was

caused by a mistake as to any law in force in
India; but mistake as to a law not in force in
India has the same effect as a mistake of fact.

Illustration

A and B make a contract grounded on the

erroneous belief that a particular debt is
barred by the Indian Law of Limitation; the
contract is not voidable.

CONTINUED

22. Contract caused by mistake of

one party as to matter of fact

A contract is not voidable merely

because it was caused by one of the
parties to it being under a mistake as to
a matter of fact.

CONTINUED
Mistake as to identity
a) Assumption of false identity
Jaggan Nath v. Secretary
b) Mistake caused by takeover of business
Boulten v Jones
c) Mistake of identity caused by fraud
Hardman v Booth

CONTINUED
Mistake as to subject-matter
a) Non-existent subject matter
Couturier v Hastie(Ship cast away)
b) Mistake as to title of rights
Sole v. Butcher(tenancy case)
c)Different subject-matters in mind
Raffles v Wichelhaus( Peerless ship case)
d) Mistake as to substance of subject-matter
Seikh Bros. Ltd v Ochener(sisal manufacture)
Mistake as to quality of subject-matter
Smith v Hughes(oats case)
Mistake as to nature of promise

CONTINUED
Limitations
1. Mistake of both parties
2. Erroneous opinion
3. Mistake of fact and not of law

VOID AGREEMENTS
Sec.2(g) An agreement not enforceable by law
is void.
1. Agreements of which consideration and
objects are unlawful in part (S.24)
2. Agreements without consideration (S.25)
3. Agreements in restraint of marriage (S.26)
4. Agreements in restraint of trade (S.27)
5. Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings
(S.28)
6. Unmeaning agreements (S.29)
7. Wagering agreements (S.30)
8. Agreements to do impossible acts (S.56)

OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF BREACH OF

CONTRACT

73- Compensation for loss or damage caused by breach of contract

When a contract has been broken, the party who suffers by such
breach is entitled to receive, from the party who has broken the
contract, compensation for any loss or damage caused to him
thereby, which naturally arose in the usual course of things from
such breach, or which the parties knew, when they made the
contract, to be likely to result from the breach of it. Such
compensation is not to be given for any remote and indirect loss or
damage sustained by reason of the breach.
Compensation for failure to discharge obligation resembling those
created by contract - When an obligation resembling those created
by contract has been incurred and has not been discharged, any
person injured by the failure to discharge it is entitled to receive
the same compensation from the party in default, as if such person
had contracted to discharge it and had broken his contract.
Explanation - In estimating the loss or damage arising from a breach
of contract, the means which existed of remedying the
inconvenience caused by the non-performance of the contract must
be taken into account.

ILLUSTRATIONS

(a) A contracts to sell and deliver 50 maunds of

saltpeter to B, at a certain price to be paid on
delivery. A breaks his promise. B is entitled to
receive from A, by way of compensation, the sum, if
any, by which the contract price falls short of the
price for which B might have obtained 50 mounds of
saltpeter of like quality at the time when the
saltpeter ought to have been delivered.
(b) A hires B's ship to go to Bombay, and there take
on board, on the first of January, a cargo which A is
to provide and to bring it to Calcutta, the freight to
be paid when earned. B's ship does not go to
Bombay, but A has opportunities of procuring
suitable conveyance for the cargo upon terms as
advantageous as those on which he had chartered
the ship. A avails himself of those opportunities, but
is put to trouble and expense in doing so. A is
entitled to receive compensation from B in respect
of such trouble and expense.

ILLUSTRATIONS

(c) A contracts to buy of B, at a stated price, 50

maunds of rice, no time being fixed for delivery. A
afterwards informs B that he will not accept the rice
if tendered to him. B is entitled to receive from A, by
way of compensation, he amount, if any, by which
the contract price exceeds that which B can obtain
for the rice at the time when A informs B that he will
not accept it.
(d) A contracts to buy B's ship for 60,000 rupees, but
breaks his promise. A must pay to B, by way of
compensation, the excess, if any, of the contract
price over the price which B can obtain for the ship
at the time of the breach of promise.

74- COMPENSATION FOR BREACH OF

CONTRACT WHERE PENALTY
STIPULATED FOR

[When a contract has been broken, if a sum is named in the contract

as the amount to be paid in case of such breach, or if the contract
contains any other stipulation by way of penalty, the party complaining
of the breach is entitled, whether or not actual damage or loss is
proved to have been caused thereby, to receive from the party who
has broken the contract reasonable compensation not exceeding the
amount so named or, as the case may be, the penalty stipulated for.
Explanation.- A stipulation for increased interest from the date of
default may be a stipulation by way of penalty.]
Exception.- When any person enters into any bail-bond, recogni- zance
or other instrument of the same nature, or, under the provisions of any
law, or under the orders of the 1*[Central Government] or of any State
Government, gives any bond for the performance of any public duty or
act in which the public are interested, he shall be liable, upon breach
of the condition of any such instrument, to pay the whole sum
mentioned therein.
Explanation.- A person who enters into a contract with Government
does not necessarily thereby undertake any public duty, or promise to
do an act in which the public are interested.

ILLUSTRATION

(a) A contracts with B to pay B Rs.

1,000, if he fails to pay B Rs. 500 on a
given day. A fails to pay B Rs. 500 on
that day. B is entitled to recover from A
such compensation, not exceeding Rs.
1,000, as the Court considers
reasonable.
(b) A contracts with B that, if A
practices as a surgeon within Calcutta,
he will pay B Rs. 5,000. A practice as a
surgeon in Calcutta. B is entitled to such
compensation, not exceeding Rs. 5,000,
as the Court considers reasonable.

ILLUSTRATION

(c) A gives a recognizance binding him in a

penalty of Rs. 500 to appear in Court on a
certain day. He forfeits his recognizance. He
is liable to pay the whole penalty.
(d) A gives B a bond for the repayment of
Rs. 1,000 with interest at 12 per cent at the
end of six months, with a stipulation that, in
case of default, interest shall be payable at
the rate of 75 per cent from the date of
default. This is a stipulation by way of
penalty, and B is only entitled to recover
from A such compensation as the Court
considers reasonable.

75- PARTY RIGHTFULLY

RESCINDING CONTRACT ENTITLED
TO COMPENSATION

A person who rightfully rescinds a contract is

entitled to compensation for any damage which
he has sustained through the non-fulfillment of
the contract.
Illustration A, a singer, contracts with B, the
manager of a theatre, to sing at his theatre for
two nights In every week during the next two
months, and B engages to pay her 100 rupees
for each night's performance. On the sixth night,
A willfully absents herself from the theatre, and
B, in consequence, rescinds the contract. B is
entitled to claim compensation for the damage
which he has sustained through the nonfulfillment of the contract.

PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTS
Who can demand performance?
Who must perform contracts?
1. Promisor himself
2. By the promisor or his agent
3. By the legal representatives
4. By a third person

ORDER OF PERFORMANCE

Mutual and Independent

Mutual and Dependent
Mutual and Concurrent
Consequences if a party prevents
performance

Time and place of performance

DISCHARGE OF CONTRACTS
Actual Performance
Attempted performance or tender
a. Unconditional
b. Proper time and place
c. Whole obligation
d. Reasonable opportunity
e. Competent person
f. To proper person
g. Exact amount
h. Joint promises

DISCHARGE BY MUTUAL
CONSENT

Novation
Alteration
Recission
Remission
Waiver

DISCHARGE BY IMPOSSIBILITY
Subsequent or Supervening impossibility
1. Destruction of subject matter
2. Failure of ultimate purpose
3. Death or personal incapacity of promisor
4. Change of law
5. Outbreak of war

CASES NOT COVERED

Difficulty of performance
Commercial Impossibility
Impossibility due to default of third person
Strikes and lock-outs
Failure of one of the objects

Discharge by lapse of time

Discharge by operation of law
a. Death
b. Insolvency
c. Merger
d. Unauthorised material alteration

DISCHARGE BY BREACH OF
CONTRACT
Anticipatory breach
a. Expressly
b. Impliedly

Actual Breach

REMEDIES FOR BREACH OF

CONTRACT

1.

When one of the parties to the contract

makes a breach of the contract the following
remedies are available to the other party.
Damages : Remedy by way of damages is
the most common remedy available to the
injured party. This entitles the injured party
to recover compensation for the loss
suffered by it due to the breach o9f
contract, from the party who caused the
breach. Section 73 to section 75 incorporate
provisions in this regard.

REMEDIES FOR BREACH OF

CONTRACT
2.

Quantum meruit : When the injured party has

performed a part of his obligation under the
contract before the breach of contract has
occurred, he is entitled to recover the value
of what he has done, under this remedy.

3.

Specific Performance and Injunction :

Sometimes a party to the contract instead of
recovering damages for the breach may have
recourse to the alternative remedy of specific
performance of the contract, or an injunction
restraining the other party from making a
breach of the contract. Provisions regarding
these remedies have been contained in the
Specific Relief Act, 1963.

TYPES OF DAMAGES
Ordinary
Special
Exemplary or punitive or vindictive
a. Breach of contract to marry
b. Dishonour of cheque.
. Nominal damages