Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication · Contingent Contracts

Contingent Events within a Fixed Time under Section 35

Updated 10 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Section 35 deals with contracts contingent on an event happening or not happening within a fixed time. If the event does not happen in that time, or becomes impossible, a happening-type contract becomes void. A not-happening-type contract can be enforced once the event is impossible, or the time lapses without it.

Understand Contingent Events within a Fixed Time (Section 35)

A contingent contract depends on an uncertain event that is collateral to the contract. Section 35 adds a time limit to that event. You must ask two things: is the contract tied to the event happening or not happening, and has the fixed time ended or the event become impossible?

Take the first type: the contract says you will perform if a certain event happens within a fixed time. If the event does not happen within that time, or if it becomes impossible before the time ends, the contract becomes void. Nobody can enforce it.

Take the second type: the contract says you will perform if a certain event does not happen within a fixed time. Now it can be enforced when the fixed time has expired and the event has not happened. It can also be enforced if, before the time expires, it becomes certain that the event will not happen.

The logic is simple. In the first type, the event is the trigger, so no event means no duty. In the second type, the non-happening is the trigger, so once the event can no longer happen, the duty arises.

A standard illustration: A promises to pay B ₹1,00,000 if a certain ship returns within a year. If the ship returns within the year, A must pay. If the ship is burnt or sunk within the year, the event is impossible, and the contract becomes void. A related illustration: A promises to pay B ₹1,00,000 if a ship does not return within the year. If the ship is sunk within the year, A can be made to pay.

Key formulas to remember

Event to happen within fixed time: Event does not happen in time, or becomes impossible → contract void; If the event happens within the time, the contract is enforceable.
Event not to happen within fixed time: Time expires without the event, or event becomes certain not to happen → contract enforceable; The duty arises only when the event can no longer happen. Section 35 itself states only the enforceable result. If the event happens within the time, the contract cannot be enforced. That result comes from Section 33, not from the text of Section 35.
Key test: Check: type (happens / not happens) + time + possibility of event; These three facts decide every Section 35 question.

How to solve Contingent Events within a Fixed Time (Section 35) questions

Use this method for any question on contingent events within a fixed time.

1Identify the promise and the uncertain event on which it depends.
2Decide the type: does the contract need the event to happen, or not to happen, within the fixed time?
3Note the fixed time and what has occurred: did the event happen, did the time expire, or did the event become impossible?
4If the type is 'happens': event occurred in time means enforceable. No event by the end of time, or event impossible, means void.
5If the type is 'does not happen': time expired without the event, or event became certain not to happen, means enforceable. If the event happens within the time, the contract cannot be enforced. This comes from Section 33, not from Section 35.
6State the conclusion in one line using the words void or enforceable.

Quickest way: Type and Outcome Check

When to use it: Use when an MCQ gives a short scenario with a ship, a deadline or a promised event.

Underline the word 'if' event 'does not' or 'does'.
If the event was needed to happen and it failed or became impossible, choose void. If it happened in time, choose enforceable.
If the event was needed not to happen and it did not happen by the deadline or became impossible, choose enforceable. If it happened within the time, choose void.
Eliminate options that mix the two types.

Common mistakes in Contingent Events within a Fixed Time (Section 35)

Treating all failed events as making the contract void.
Students remember only the 'void' rule and apply it to both types.
Fix: Check the type first. For a 'not happening' contract, the failure of the event makes the contract enforceable.
Ignoring the time limit and waiting for the event indefinitely.
The words 'within a fixed time' are skimmed.
Fix: Mark the deadline. After it passes, apply the rule at once.
Missing that impossibility before the deadline is enough.
Students think the full time must run out first.
Fix: If the event becomes impossible earlier, for example the ship sinks in month three, the result follows at that point.
Confusing Section 35 with Section 32, 33 or 34.
All of these deal with contingent contracts.
Fix: Section 32 covers enforcement when an event happens, and Section 33 covers enforcement when an event does not happen. Section 34 covers when an event that depends on the conduct of a living person is treated as impossible. Section 35 deals with the special case of a fixed time, and impossibility within that time. Look for a deadline in the question.
Saying the contract is void ab initio.
Void is assumed to mean invalid from the start.
Fix: Here the contract is valid when made and becomes void later, when the event fails or becomes impossible.

Worked examples

Example 1

A promises to pay B ₹2,00,000 if B's cargo ship returns to Mumbai port within one year. The ship is lost at sea after four months. Is A bound to pay?

Show the solution

The promise depends on the event 'ship returns within one year', so the event must happen.
The ship is lost after four months, so the event has become impossible before the time ends.
For a happening-type contract, impossibility of the event makes the contract void.

Answer: No. The contract becomes void and A is not bound to pay.

Example 2

X promises to pay Y ₹50,000 if a certain shipment does not arrive within six months. Six months pass and the shipment has not arrived. What is the position?

Show the solution

The promise depends on the event not happening within a fixed time.
The fixed time of six months has expired and the event has not happened.
For a not-happening-type contract, expiry of the time without the event makes it enforceable.

Answer: The contract can be enforced, so X must pay Y ₹50,000.

Exam tips

Read whether the event must happen or must not happen before anything else.
Look for options that say 'void' for a not-happening contract after the deadline. They are usually wrong.
Ship return examples are common. Remember: ship lost means void for 'returns' and enforceable for 'does not return'.
Do not spend time on numbers. The amount never changes the legal outcome.

Practice questions from Contingent Contracts

Contingent Events within a Fixed Time (Section 35) in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Contingent Events within a Fixed Time (Section 35): frequently asked questions

What does Section 35 of the Indian Contract Act say in simple words?

It says what happens to contingent contracts that depend on an event within a fixed time. A contract needing the event to happen becomes void if it does not happen in time or becomes impossible. A contract needing the event not to happen is enforceable once the time lapses without it or it becomes impossible.

When does a contingent contract become void under Section 35?

A contract contingent on an event happening within a fixed time becomes void if the time ends without the event, or if the event becomes impossible before then.

When can a contract contingent on an event not happening be enforced?

It can be enforced when the fixed time expires and the event has not happened. It can also be enforced if, before the time expires, the event becomes certain not to happen. If the event does happen within the time, the contract cannot be enforced, but that follows from Section 33 and not from the text of Section 35.

Is the contract void from the start if the event fails?

No. The contract is valid when made. It becomes void later, when the event fails to happen in time or becomes impossible.