Void and Voidable contracts — 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 2(j), a 'void contract' is:

   • An agreement never enforceable from the start
   • A contract valid when made, which later ceases to be enforceable (correct answer)
   • A contract enforceable only at one party's option
   • The same thing as a void agreement

   Explanation. Section 2(j) specifically defines a void contract as one that was valid at formation but later becomes unenforceable — distinct from a void agreement (Section 2(g)), which was never enforceable at all.

2. A voidable contract, under Section 2(i), remains binding:

   • Until the option-holder chooses to avoid it (correct answer)
   • For a maximum of six months only
   • Only if registered with a court
   • Never — it is unenforceable from the start

   Explanation. A voidable contract is fully valid and binding unless and until the party with the option to avoid it actually chooses to do so.

3. Under Section 19, a party whose consent was caused by fraud or misrepresentation may:

   • Only rescind the contract — no other option exists
   • Either rescind the contract, or insist it be performed as if the representation were true (correct answer)
   • Only sue for criminal prosecution of the other party
   • Nothing — the contract remains fully binding

   Explanation. Section 19 gives the wronged party a real choice: rescind the contract, or affirm it and insist on being put in the position they would have been in had the representation been true.

4. Under Section 64, a party who rescinds a voidable contract, having received a benefit under it, must:

   • Keep the benefit as compensation
   • Restore the benefit to the party from whom it was received (correct answer)
   • Pay double the value of the benefit as a penalty
   • Nothing — rescission cancels all obligations automatically

   Explanation. Section 64 requires a party rescinding a voidable contract to restore any benefit they received under it to the person from whom it was received.

5. A minor's agreement, void ab initio under Mohori Bibee, is an example of:

   • A void contract under Section 2(j)
   • A void agreement under Section 2(g) (correct answer)
   • A voidable contract under Section 2(i)
   • None of the above — it is fully valid

   Explanation. A minor's agreement was never enforceable at all — it fits Section 2(g)'s definition of a void agreement, not Section 2(j)'s void contract, which requires the contract to have been valid at formation.