Indian Contract Act, 1872

Voidability of agreements without free consent

19. 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 shall be performed, and that he shall be put on 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 practised, or to whom such misrepresentation was made, does not render a contract voidable.

Illustrations

(a)	-	A, intending to deceive B, falsely represents that five hundred maunds 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 be .... To read the full section download the app from Google Play store Latest Job Openings View all ARTICLESHIP 08 June 2026 Internal & Taxation Article O P Bagla & Co LLP New Delhi CA Inter View Details 19 May 2026 Article, CA & Paid Assistant Positions Aggarwal Sarawagi and Co New Delhi CA View Details 26 May 2026 Education Content Creator Adyayam Education LLP Bengaluru CA Foundation View Details ARTICLESHIP 17 May 2026 CA Article /Trainee Malik Sunil & co New Delhi CA Foundation View Details ARTICLESHIP 04 June 2026 Article Rakhecha & Co. New Delhi CA Inter View Details 18 May 2026 MIS Executive Primarc Pecan Retail Limited Mumbai B.Com View Details 23 May 2026 Article Assistant Geeta Manchanda & CO. New Delhi CA Inter View Details 22 May 2026 Audit assistant Displayandbeyond Mumbai CA View Details Share  Facebook  Twitter  Linkedin  Reddit  Email  Whatsapp  Gmail  Pocket  Print  Pinterest  PDF  Translate Whatsapp Groups GST Income Tax CA Final CA Inter CAclubindia Login at CAclubindia CAclubindia India's largest network for finance professionals User Name Password Remember Me Forgot Password ? Alternatively, you can log in using: Login with Google Don't have an account? Register Now click here to register