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CS Professional · Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances · Drafting of Agreements, Deeds and Documents

Deepak and Farhan sign a registered deed of sale of a plot in 2026 for ₹40 lakh and the deed also carries a stray clause drafted by mistake reading 'This sale is conditional on two straight lines enclosing a space.' Applying the Indian Contract Act, 1872 as stated in the official text, how does this clause stand?

The clause is void. Under Section 36 of the Indian Contract Act, a contingent agreement that depends on an impossible event happening is void, whether or not the parties knew of the impossibility. Registration of the deed does not validate such a clause.

  1. AThe clause is valid because the deed is registered
  2. BThe clause is valid if both parties knew of it when signing
  3. CThe clause is void, because a contingent agreement dependent on an impossible event is void whether or not the parties knew of the impossibilityCorrect
  4. DThe clause is voidable at the option of the buyer only

Explanation

Section 36 states that contingent agreements to do or not to do anything, if an impossible event happens, are void, whether the impossibility is known to the parties or not. Two straight lines enclosing a space is the statutory illustration of an impossible event. Registration does not cure it, and the clause is void rather than voidable.

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