Legal Reasoning Questions for CLAT | QB Set 79 [Acceptance of Contracts]

Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the communication of an acceptance is complete against the proposer when it is put into a course of transmission to the proposer so as to be out of the power of the acceptor. However, as against the acceptor, communication of acceptance is complete only when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer. An offer may be revoked at any time before the communication of its acceptance is complete against the proposer, but not afterwards. Communication of revocation is complete against the person making it when it is put into a course of transmission, and against the person to whom it is made only when it comes to that person’s knowledge.

Where the parties use post as the contemplated or reasonable mode of communication, acceptance may therefore become binding on the proposer when the letter of acceptance is posted. In contrast, communications made through instantaneous means, such as email, generally take effect when they are received by the intended recipient. A promise by an offeror to keep an offer open for a specified period does not by itself prevent revocation unless that promise is independently supported by consideration. Further, a valid acceptance must be made with knowledge of the offer and must amount to an absolute and unqualified assent to its terms.

Geeta, a wholesale saree trader in Varanasi, sent a written letter to Mohan, a retailer in Lucknow, on Monday offering to sell 200 sarees at Rs. 500 each. Her letter stated: “This offer will remain open for seven days from the date of this letter.”

Mohan received the letter on Wednesday. After thinking it over, Mohan posted his unconditional acceptance letter on Friday afternoon. Later the same Friday evening, Geeta posted a revocation of her offer because she had found a better buyer. Mohan’s acceptance letter reached Geeta on Saturday morning. Geeta’s revocation letter reached Mohan on Sunday. Mohan demands that Geeta honour the contract.

Q1. At what point did Mohan’s acceptance become legally binding on Geeta?

A) When Geeta received Mohan’s acceptance letter on Saturday morning

B) When Mohan posted the acceptance letter on Friday afternoon —the contract was formed at that moment under the postal rule

C) When Mohan decided to accept the offer after reading it on Wednesday

D) When Geeta opened and read Mohan’s acceptance letter

Q2. Was Geeta’s Friday evening revocation effective in cancelling the offer before a contract was formed?

A) No —Geeta’s revocation was posted after Mohan had already posted his acceptance; since acceptance under the postal rule is complete on posting, the contract had already formed before Geeta attempted to revoke

B) Yes —Geeta posted her revocation on the same day as Mohan’s acceptance, so both were simultaneous

C) Yes —revocation is always effective from the date of posting regardless of when acceptance was posted

D) No —Geeta promised to keep the offer open for seven days and cannot revoke within that period

Q3. Geeta argues that her ‘seven day’ promise to keep the offer open was not supported by any consideration from Mohan, so she could revoke at any time. Is this argument correct?

A) No —a promise to keep an offer open for a specified time is always irrevocable

B) No —Mohan accepted within the seven-day window, so the issue of revocation does not arise —the contract was formed before revocation was attempted

C) No —offers cannot be revoked once communicated to the offeree

D) Yes —in strict contract law, a promise to keep an offer open (an option) is revocable unless supported by separate consideration, but this point is academic because the contract formed before revocation

Q4. Suppose Mohan had sent his acceptance via email (not post) on Friday and it entered Geeta’s inbox at 4 PM, while Geeta posted her revocation at 3 PM on Friday. Who wins?

A) Geeta —because her revocation was sent first

B) Mohan —because acceptance via email is instantaneous and the contract formed at 4 PM before the revocation reached Mohan

C) Geeta —because the postal rule does not apply to emails, so acceptance is complete on receipt

D) Neither —both communications cancel each other out and no contract forms

Q5. Mohan had already packed his goods in anticipation of Geeta’s order before she even sent the offer. When Geeta’s offer arrived, Mohan assumed it was acceptance of his earlier intention. He replied ‘Agreed’ without making any fresh decision. Is there a valid contract?

A) No —Mohan cannot accept an offer he had already decided to accept before the offer was made; acceptance must be made in response to and with knowledge of the specific offer

B) Yes —Mohan’s ‘Agreed’ reply is a valid acceptance regardless of his prior intention

C) Yes —both parties clearly intended to deal with each other

D) No —Mohan’s prior packing invalidates his acceptance

This practice set is from: CLAT Legal Reasoning Course & Question Bank → Contract Law → Set 1