Indian Contract Act — Section 12

What is a sound mind for the purposes of contracting.—A person is said to be of sound mind

12. What is a sound mind for the purposes of contracting.—A person is said to be of sound mind for the purpose of making a contract, if, at the time when he makes it, he is capable of understanding it and of forming a rational judgment as to its effect upon his interests.

A person who is usually of unsound mind, but occasionally of sound mind, may make a contract

when he is of sound mind.

A person who is usually of sound mind, but occasionally of unsound mind, may not make a contract

when he is of unsound mind.

Illustrations

(a) A patient in a lunatic asylum, who is at intervals of sound mind, may contract during those intervals.

(b) A sane man, who is delirious from fever or who is so drunk that he cannot understand the terms of a contract, or form a

rational judgment as to its effect on his interests, cannot contract whilst such delirium or drunkenness lasts.

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Text reproduced from the public statutes on which the corpus is built. Verify against the official Gazette before relying on it. This is statute reference, not legal advice.