Indian Contract Act, 1872 · Chapter V: Of Certain Relations Resembling Those Created by Contract
Section 68: Claim for necessaries supplied to person incapable of contracting, or on his account
In plain words
If someone supplies necessaries suited to their condition in life to a person who cannot contract, or to anyone that person must support by law, the supplier can be reimbursed from that person's property.
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
If a person, incapable of entering into a contract, or any one whom he is legally bound to support, is supplied by another person with necessaries suited to his condition in life, the person who has furnished such supplies is entitled to be reimbursed from the property of such incapable person.1
Illustrations
(a) A supplies B, a lunatic, with necessaries suitable to his condition in life. A is entitled to be reimbursed from B's property.
(b) A supplies the wife and children of B, a lunatic, with necessaries suitable to their condition in life. A is entitled to be reimbursed from B's property
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 68 begins the quasi-contract chapter. A person who supplies necessaries suited to the condition in life of someone incapable of contracting (a minor or person of unsound mind), or of anyone they are legally bound to support, is entitled to be reimbursed from the incapable person's property.
What 'quasi-contract' means
Sections 68 to 72 impose obligations that resemble contractual ones even though there is no agreement. They rest on the principle of unjust enrichment: no one should keep a benefit at another's expense when it would be unjust to do so.
Key points
- Only necessaries are covered: things reasonably needed given the person's station in life, such as food, clothing, education and medical care.
- Liability is limited to the incapable person's property; there is no personal liability.
- The supplier must prove the items were necessaries and that the person was not already adequately supplied.
Common mistakes
- Suing a minor personally for necessaries; only their property is liable.
- Treating luxuries as necessaries.
Read with: Section 11 Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 70 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.