Things delivered by mistake or coercion — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Under Section 72, money paid or goods delivered by mistake or under coercion:

   • May be kept by the recipient if made in good faith
   • Must be repaid or returned (correct answer)
   • Are forfeited to the government
   • Are recoverable only within 30 days

   Explanation. Section 72 requires repayment or return. The recipient's good faith is not the test.

2. In illustration (a) to Section 72, B pays a jointly-owed debt a second time because he did not know A had already paid. C must:

   • Keep both payments
   • Repay the second payment to B (correct answer)
   • Sue B for fraud
   • Split the amount between A and B

   Explanation. Since B paid under a genuine mistake of fact, C is bound to refund the duplicate payment to B.

3. In Sales Tax Officer, Banaras v. Kanhaiya Lal Mukundlal Saraf, the Supreme Court held that "mistake" under Section 72 covers:

   • Only mistake of fact
   • Only mistake of law
   • Both mistake of fact and mistake of law (correct answer)
   • Neither, unless proven fraudulent

   Explanation. The Court followed the Privy Council in Shiba Prasad Singh: "mistake" in Section 72 covers a mistake of law as well as a mistake of fact.

4. In illustration (b) to Section 72, a consignee pays an illegal railway charge to obtain his goods. He can recover:

   • Nothing, since he agreed to pay
   • The illegally excessive portion of the charge (correct answer)
   • The full value of the goods
   • Only if he sues within a week

   Explanation. He is entitled to recover so much of the charge as was illegally excessive, as stated in the illustration itself.

5. "Coercion" as used in Section 72 is best described as:

   • Identical in scope to Section 15's coercion
   • Broader than Section 15, covering any compulsion in the general sense (correct answer)
   • Irrelevant to Section 72
   • Limited to threats of physical violence only

   Explanation. "Coercion" in Section 72 is not tied to the technical definition in Section 15. It is used in the general and ordinary sense and covers every kind of forced pressure.

6. To succeed under Section 72, the payer must show:

   • The recipient acted in bad faith
   • The payment was made by mistake or under coercion (correct answer)
   • A written contract existed between the parties
   • The recipient was negligent

   Explanation. Section 72 requires only that the payment/delivery was by mistake or under coercion — no fault or bad faith of the recipient needs to be shown.

7. The railway company illustration under Section 72 shows that coercion in this context can arise from:

   • A threat of an IPC offence
   • Withholding goods unless an unlawful charge is paid (correct answer)
   • A written notice of default
   • A police complaint

   Explanation. The railway withheld the consignee's goods unless he paid an illegal charge. That is compulsion in the general sense, with no offence threatened.

8. Priya accidentally pays a duplicate electricity bill due to a billing system error. Under Section 72, the utility company:

   • May keep the extra payment since it was the company's own error
   • Must refund the duplicate payment (correct answer)
   • Can only offer a future discount instead of refund
   • Is not liable since there was no coercion

   Explanation. The second payment was made by mistake, so Section 72 requires the utility to refund it. The recipient's good faith is not the test.