Fraud and misrepresentation (ss. 17-19): the five acts, silence, the three limbs and their effect
LUG-103 Law of Contract including Specific Relief Act & Sale of Goods Act, Unit II: Coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation, fraud and mistake. · LLB · 60 min
Fraud (s. 17) and misrepresentation (s. 18) are the two vitiating factors that work on the mind through false facts. This lecture reads both definitions clause by clause, spends real time on the Explanation to s. 17 - when is silence fraud? - with the Act's four illustrations and Sri Krishan v. Kurukshetra University, and then sets out the effect under s. 19, including the "ordinary diligence" exception. The distinction between fraud and misrepresentation has been asked in 2017-18, 2019-20, 2022-23 and 2024-25; "does mere silence amount to fraud?" was a 10-mark question in 2018-19.
Objectives
- State the five acts that constitute fraud under s. 17 and the requirement of intent to deceive or to induce the contract.
- Explain when mere silence is and is not fraud under the Explanation to s. 17, with the four illustrations and the leading cases.
- Distinguish the three limbs of misrepresentation under s. 18 and identify innocent misrepresentation.
- Distinguish fraud from misrepresentation on intention, remedy and the diligence exception.
- Apply s. 19 - voidability, the option to insist on performance, the Exception and the Explanation - to problem facts.
Slides
- Fraud: the text of s. 17
- The five acts explained, and Derry v. Peek
- Mere silence is not fraud: the Explanation and its four illustrations
- When silence is fraud: the duty to speak and silence as speech
- Misrepresentation: the three limbs of s. 18
- Fraud v misrepresentation
- The effect: s. 19 and its illustrations
- Remedies, their limits and the Indian v English position
- Worked problem: the indigo factory and the unsound horse
- How the examiner asks it
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