Void
Also called: Void agreement, Void ab initio
Having no legal effect. Under Section 2(g) of the Contract Act an agreement not enforceable by law is void, and under Section 2(j) a contract becomes void when it ceases to be enforceable.
Explained
Section 2(g) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 says an agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void. Section 2(j) adds that a contract which ceases to be enforceable by law becomes void when it ceases to be enforceable. The first describes agreements void from the start; the second describes valid contracts that later become void, as when performance becomes impossible or unlawful under Section 56.
The Act declares many agreements void: an agreement with a minor (settled since Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose), an agreement where both parties are under a mistake as to a fact essential to it (Section 20), agreements with unlawful object or consideration (Sections 23 and 24), agreements without consideration outside Section 25, agreements in restraint of marriage, trade or legal proceedings (Sections 26 to 28), uncertain agreements (Section 29), wagers (Section 30) and agreements to do an impossible act (Section 56). Under Section 65, when an agreement is discovered to be void or a contract becomes void, a person who received an advantage under it must restore it or compensate for it. In Tarsem Singh v. Sukhminder Singh (1998) an agreement to sell land made under a mutual mistake about the unit of area was void under Section 20, and the earnest money had to be refunded under Section 65.
Void differs from voidable. A voidable contract under Section 2(i) is enforceable at the option of one party, and binds until avoided. A void instrument binds no one and need not be set aside; in Prem Singh v. Birbal (2006) the Court held that Article 59 of the Limitation Act applies to voidable instruments, not to those void ab initio. Void also differs from illegal. In Gherulal Parakh v. Mahadeodas Maiya (1959) a wager was held void under Section 30 but not unlawful under Section 23, so a collateral partnership for wagering was valid. Every illegal agreement is void, but not every void agreement is illegal.
In constitutional law, Article 13 makes laws inconsistent with fundamental rights void to the extent of the inconsistency; Keshavan Madhava Menon v. State of Bombay (1951) held that Article 13(1) operates prospectively. Examiners test the list of void agreements, restitution under Section 65, and the void, voidable and illegal distinctions.
What the law says
(g) An agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void;
(h) An agreement enforceable by law is a contract;
(i) An agreement which is enforceable by law at the option of one or more of the parties thereto, but not at the option of the other or others, is a voidable contract;
Clauses (g), (i) and (j) define void agreement, voidable and void contract
When an agreement is discovered to be void, or when a contract becomes void, any person who has received any advantage under such agreement or contract is bound to restore it, or to make compensation for it to the person from whom he received it.
Illustrations
(a) A pays B 1,000 rupees in consideration of B’s promising to marry C, A’s daughter. C is dead at the time of the promise. The agreement is void, but B must repay A the 1,000 rupees.
Restitution of advantages under void agreements and contracts
Agreements by way of wager are void; and no suit shall be brought for recovering anything alleged to be won on any wager, or entrusted to any person to abide the result of any game or other uncertain event on which any wager is made.
Exception in favour of certain prizes for horse-racing.—This section shall not be deemed to render unlawful a subscription or contribution, or agreement to subscribe or contribute, made or entered into for or toward any plate, prize or sum of money, of the value or amount of five hundred rupees or upwards, to be awarded to the winner or winners of any horse-race.
Section 294A of the Indian Penal Code not affected.—Nothing in this section shall be deemed to legalize any transaction connected with horse-racing, to which the provisions of section 294A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) apply.
Agreements by way of wager are void
An agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void.
Contract to do an act afterwards becoming impossible or unlawful.—A contract to do an act which, after the contract is made, becomes impossible, or, by reason of some event which the promisor could not prevent, unlawful, becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful.
Compensation for loss through non-performance of act known to be impossible or unlawful.— Where one person has promised to do something which he knew, or, with reasonable diligence, might have known, and which the promisee did not know, to be impossible or unlawful, such promisor must make compensation to such promisee for any loss which such promisee sustains through the non-performance of the promise.
Agreement to do an impossible act is void
(1) All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.
(2) The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.
(3) In this article, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Laws inconsistent with fundamental rights are void
Example
Illustration to Section 65: A pays B 1,000 rupees in consideration of B's promising to marry C, A's daughter. C is dead at the time of the promise. The agreement is void, but B must repay A the 1,000 rupees.
For the exam
- Section 2(g): agreement not enforceable by law is void; Section 2(j): contract becomes void when unenforceable.
- Void agreements include those under Sections 20, 23 to 30 and 56; a minor's agreement is void.
- Section 65: advantage received under a void agreement or contract must be restored.
- Voidable (Section 2(i)) binds until avoided; a void instrument need not be set aside (Prem Singh, 2006).
- A wager is void but not illegal (Gherulal Parakh, 1959): collateral transactions survive.
810 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Contract Law questions
Judgments
- Tarsem Singh v. Sukhminder Singh (1998)An agreement to sell land made under a mutual mistake about the area (kanals or bighas) was void under Section 20 of the Contract Act; its forfeiture clause failed and the earnest money had to be refunded under Section 65.
- Prem Singh v. Birbal (2006)Article 59 of the Limitation Act applies to instruments that are voidable and prima facie valid, not to those void ab initio; on the facts, the plaintiff's suit to set aside a registered sale deed was held time-barred.
- Gherulal Parakh v. Mahadeodas Maiya (1959)A partnership formed to carry on wagering transactions is not unlawful under Section 23 of the Contract Act, because a wager, though void under Section 30, is not forbidden by law, opposed to public policy or immoral.
- Keshavan Madhava Menon v. State of Bombay (1951)Article 13(1) is prospective. A prosecution started before 26 January 1950 under a pre-Constitution law can continue even if that law later became void for inconsistency with fundamental rights.
Related terms
- Voidable contractAn agreement enforceable by law at the option of one or more of the parties but not at the option of the other or others. Section 2(i) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
- AgreementUnder Section 2(e) of the Contract Act, every promise and every set of promises forming the consideration for each other. An agreement enforceable by law is a contract.
- ContractUnder Section 2(h) of the Contract Act, an agreement enforceable by law. Section 10 lists what makes an agreement a contract.
- ConsiderationAn act, abstinence or promise done or made at the desire of the promisor by the promisee or any other person, which is the price for the promise (Section 2(d) of the Contract Act).
- Ab initioFrom the beginning. A transaction void ab initio has no legal effect from the outset, unlike one that is voidable and valid until avoided.
- MinorA person who has not attained majority, which in India is ordinarily the completion of eighteen years. A minor cannot contract, and his agreement is void.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.