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

Section 22: Contract caused by mistake of one party as to matter of fact

In plain words

A contract is not voidable merely because one of the parties was mistaken about a fact.

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.

Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓

Official text

A contract is not voidable merely because it was caused by one of the parties to it being under a mistake as to a matter of fact.

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.

Understanding this section

Section 22 says a contract is not voidable merely because one party was under a mistake as to a matter of fact. A unilateral mistake does not affect the contract.

Key points

  • The law protects the security of bargains; a party cannot escape because they misunderstood something on their own.
  • If the mistake was caused by the other party's fraud or misrepresentation, sections 17 to 19 give a remedy instead.
  • Where one party knows of the other's mistake about the terms and takes advantage of it, courts may hold that there was no real agreement (no consensus) under sections 13 and 14.
  • A mistake as to the identity of the other party, where identity is vital, can also defeat consent.

Common mistakes

  • Treating a one-sided misunderstanding as grounds to avoid a contract.
  • Overlooking fraud or misrepresentation where the other side caused the mistake.

Read with: Section 20 Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 13 Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 18 Indian Contract Act, 1872

Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 22