Section 56 The Indian Contract Act, 1872
✅ Section 56 – The Indian Contract Act, 1872
Title: Agreement to do impossible act
Full Text of Section 56:
Section 56 is divided into three parts:
Initial Impossibility:
“An agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void.”
Subsequent Impossibility (Doctrine of Frustration):
“A contract to do an act which, after the contract is made, becomes impossible, or by reason of some event which the promisor could not prevent, becomes unlawful, becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful.”
Compensation for Non-performance:
“Where one person has promised to do something which he knew, or with reasonable diligence might have known, and which the promisee did not know to be impossible or unlawful, such promisor must make compensation to such promisee for any loss which such promisee sustains through the non-performance of the promise.”
🔍 Explanation:
📌 1. Initial Impossibility:
If a contract is made to do something that is impossible from the beginning (e.g., bringing back someone from the dead), it is void ab initio (void from the start).
📌 2. Subsequent Impossibility or Frustration:
If a lawful contract becomes impossible to perform due to unforeseen events (like natural disaster, war, or change in law), the contract becomes void from that point onward.
This is known as the Doctrine of Frustration.
📌 3. Duty to Compensate:
If the promisor knew or should have known that the act was impossible, but the promisee didn't know — the promisor must compensate for the resulting loss.
💡 Example:
A contracts to deliver goods from Mumbai to Chennai. Before delivery, a flood destroys all transportation routes.
👉 The contract becomes void due to impossibility.
A promises to marry B, but A was already married (and legally not permitted to marry again).
👉 The agreement is void due to initial impossibility.
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