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Section 5 of Indian Contract Act

Revocation of proposals and acceptances.β€” A proposal may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete as against the proposer, but not afterwards.

An acceptance may be revoked at any time before the communication of the acceptance is complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards.

Illustration

A proposes, by a letter sent by post, to sell his house to B.
B accepts the proposal by a letter sent by post.
A may revoke his proposal at any time before or at the moment when B posts his letter of acceptance, but not afterwards.
B may revoke his acceptance at any time before or at the moment when the letter communicating it reaches A, but not afterwards.

STATE AMENDMENT

Uttar Pradesh
Amendment of section 5 of Act (9 of 1872).β€”In section 5 of Indian contract Act, 1872, hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as the principal Act, at the end of the first paragraph, the following explanation shall inserted, namely:–

β€œExplanationβ€” Where an invitation to a proposal contains a condition that any proposal made in response to such invitation shall be kept open for a specified time and a proposal is thereupon made accepting such condition, such proposal may not be revoked within such time.”
[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act, 57 of 1976, s. 2]

Varun Kumar Jha

Varun Kumar Jha is a Legal Researcher and the founder of LLB Varun. The content is written and reviewed by , a dedicated legal author with an LL.B. background from Karnataka State Law University (KSLU). You can review and verify the statutory language directly within the Ministry of Home Affairs Official Gazette Document. 🌐 Connect: LinkedIn | Contact Editor.

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