By Asok Nadhani
4.2 Minor
i.
Not
completed 18 years : As
per Indian Minority Act, a person who has not completed 18 years of age is said
to be minor.
ii.
21
years of age in special cases
: In some special cases (like when the guardian of minor’s property is
appointed under Guardian & Wards Act, or where the superintendence of minor
has been assumed by court of wards), the majority is attained only when he is of
21 years of age.
4.2.1 Legal Consequences of Agreement with
Minors
(a)
Void ab initio : Any
agreement with Minor is Void ab initio and cannot be enforced against
the minor.
Ex.
A money lender paid Rs
20000 to B, a minor, on mortgage of the minor’s house. The minor may apply to
cancel the mortgage.
(b)
Beneficiary : A minor can be a
promisee or a beneficiary in a
contract and he can opt to enforce the contract to his advantage.
Ex. A mortgage is executed in favour of a
minor. The minor can get a decree for enforcement of mortgage.
(c)
No Ratification : Minor’s agreement cannot
be ratified on attaining majority.
A fresh agreement to pay for goods supplied during minority is also void.
However services rendered during minority and continued after majority may be
enforced by the service provider.
Ex. A minor borrowed money signing a
promissory note. On attaining majority, he signs another promissory note in
settlement of earlier one. The second promissory note is void as no fresh
consideration emerges.
(d)
Not bound to refund benefit : A minor is
not bound to refund the benefit,
even if received under a void contract.
Ex. A minor took loan against mortgage of his
house. The minor may avoid repayment of loan. The mortgaged property can not be
made liable for his debt.
(e)
Plead minority : A Minor can always plead
minority. Rule of estoppel
cannot be applied to minor.
Ex. A minor borrowed money from a lender
representing himself as Major. He did not repay the loan. The lender sued him.
Held, the contract was void and the lender cannot sue the minor for money not
for the tort of misrepresentation.
(f)
Not enter into Partnership : A Minor
cannot enter into a contract of Partnership, but
he may be admitted into benefits of Partnership. Liability of minor is limited
to his share of profit in the partnership.
(g)
Cannot incur debt : A minor cannot incur
debt. A Minor cannot be
adjudged insolvent.
Ex.
A sold some articles from his shop to B on credit, not knowing that B
was a Minor. The time fixed for payment expired and no payment was made. Some
time later when B attained majority, A sued him for the price.
Held minor cannot be made liable for debt.
(h)
Partly paid shares : A minor cannot be
shareholder of partly paid shares.
(i)
Apprentice : A minor attaining 14
years of age may be appointed as apprentice.
(j)
Pay
for necessary supplies : Minor is liable to pay for necessary supplies. The supplier is
legally bound to support the minor, out of minor’s property. The property is
liable, but the minor is not personally liable. (sec. 68)
(k)
Agent : A Minor can be an Agent, without incurring any liability in the
contract of agency. A minor cannot be a principal.
(l)
Hold
property : A Minor can
hold property.
(m) Specific
performance : Minor cannot be asked for specific performance of Contract.
(n)
Guardian : Guardian of Minor cannot
be responsible for act of Minor.
(o)
Contract
entered into by guardian :
A Contract entered into by guardian on behalf of a minor will be valid if the guardian has the authority to enter
into such contract on behalf of minor and is for the benefit of minor.
(p)
Immovable
property : A Guardian of
Minor cannot enter into contract to purchase immovable property on behalf of
minor (even if he has authority to enter into contract on behalf of Minor).
(q)
Personal
service : A Contract for personal service to be
rendered by minor is not valid.
(r)
Guarantee
for a debt : A person
giving guarantee for a debt owned by minor would be held as surety for default
by minor.
(s)
Negotiable
instruments : Minor is
competent to draw, negotiate or endorse negotiable instruments. He will not
incur any personal liability under such instruments. The negotiable instruments
executed in favour of minor can be enforced by him.
(t)
Guarantor : Minor cannot be a guarantor.
(u)
Restitution : If the other party to the agreement
fails to perform his part of obligation, the minor can claim restitution.
4.2.2 Necessaries of Minor
In the following cases, the cost of supply
of necessary goods and services are to be reimbursed by the property of Minor:
a.
Necessaries : The goods must be ‘necessaries’, for the
particular minor having regard to his status or standard of life. Necessaries
include Goods, Services which are beneficial to a Minor.
b.
Need
of goods : Minor must be
in need of those goods both at the time of sale and delivery.
c.
Beneficial
to minor : Contracts
should be beneficial to the minor, even if it is not for supply of necessaries.
d.
Loans
taken to obtain necessaries
: Loans taken by the Minor to obtain necessaries is also recoverable by the
Lender.
4.2.3 Rules of Estoppel applicable to Minor
i. The
Rule of Estoppel: It can
be explained in the following way:
a. Makes representation : X makes a representation (expressly by
words, or impliedly by his conduct) to Y.
b. Believes representation to be true : Y believes such representation to be
true. He has no reasonable reason to regard it as false.
c. Does some act : On the faith of such representation, Y does some
act for which Y holds X as liable.
d. No denial : X cannot deny the validity of statement made by
him, i.e., X will be liable for
any action done by Y on the faith of such representation. In other words, X shall be estopped
from saying that the representation was false.
ii.
Applicability of Rule of Estoppel to Minor
a.
Minor can plead minority : A minor can
always plead minority. The
rule of estoppel does not apply to a minor, i.e., the minor may fraudulently make a representation to a
person that he is of majority and competent to enter into a contract. On the
faith of such misrepresentation by minor, a person may enter into an agreement
with the minor. Afterwards, such other person cannot claim that the minor shall
be bound by his false representation, since the rule of estoppel does not apply
to a minor. Thus, the other person cannot enforce the agreement against the
minor on the basis of false representation made by the minor. Thus, it is
generally said, "A minor can always plead minority" and "Rule of
estoppel cannot be pleaded against the minor" (even though he might have
earlier misrepresented himself to be of age of majority). [Leslie vs Shiell]
b.
Question
of fact : The rule of
estoppel applies only in case of a question of fact. The estoppel does not
apply in case of a question of law.
Ex. P makes a false representation to Q about
certain provision of a law, and on the faith of such representation Q enters
into a contract with P, Q cannot afterwards claim that the false representation
made by P shall be binding on P.
For more details, refer to Mercantile Law, by Asok Nadhani, BPB Publications, www.bpbonline.com, bpbpublications@gmail.com
