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Indian Contract Act, 1872 · Chapter II: Of Contracts, Voidable Contracts and Void Agreements

Section 19A: Power to set aside contract induced by undue influence

In plain words

If consent is caused by undue influence, the contract is voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.

  • The court can set it aside completely, or, if that party has received a benefit under it, on terms the court thinks just.

Example: A money-lender lends Rs. 100 and, by undue influence, gets the borrower to sign a bond for Rs. 200. The court can set the bond aside and order repayment of the Rs. 100 with reasonable interest.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

When consent to an agreement is caused by undue influence, the agreement is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.

Any such contract may be set aside either absolutely or, if the party who was entitled to avoid it has received any benefit thereunder, upon such terms and conditions as to the Court may seem just.

Illustrations

(a) As son has forged Bs name to a promissory note. B under threat of prosecuting As son, obtains a bond from A for the amount of the forged note. If B sues on this bond, the Court may set the bond aside.

(b) A, a money-lender, advances Rs. 100 to B, an agriculturist, and, by undue influence, induces B to execute a bond for Rs. 200 with interest at 6 per cent. per month. The Court may set the bond aside, ordering B to repay the Rs. 100 with such interest as may seem just.]

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 19A