Powell v/s Lee - Communication of Acceptance in Contract Law

Author - Associate Kantika Mukherjee

Powell v/s Lee case law - Communication of Acceptance in Contract Law

According to the Indian Contract Act, 1872, a contract is an agreement which is enforceable by means of law.

Section 2(a) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines an offer as, “a proposal made by one individual towards another to do an act or abstain from doing it.” The individual who makes the offer is recognized as the promisor or offer and the individual towards whom an offer is made is recognized as the promisee or the offeree.

A contract comes into effect from the acceptance of an offer. When the individual towards whom the offer is made gives his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted, (Section 2(b) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872). Therefore, acceptance of the offer should be absolute and unqualified. It cannot be conditional.

What is communication of law of acceptance (acceptance of case law of (powell vs lee case law))

When an offer is made towards a particular individual or to a group of individuals, it could be accepted only by that individual or member of the group. When it is accepted by any other individuals, there is no valid acceptance case law.

For a valid contract, the acceptance must be communicated and furthermore such communication must be made towards the offeror. Another point of law clarified in the case was that the offeror cannot enforce upon the offeree duty towards reply and thus an offeror cannot say that failure in the direction of replying would be deemed to be an acceptance of the offer.

As per subsection 2(b), a proposal is accepted when the individual towards whom it is made gives his assent thereto. An law of acceptance is compulsory upon communication, and this section doesn’t expressly dispense with this requirement. The section identifies the fact that in the cases in which the offeror invites acceptance through the doing of an act, “it is sometimes impossible for the offeree towards expressing his acceptance otherwise than through carrying out of his part of the contract.”

What are the rules of communication of law of acceptance(acceptance case law)

In communication of acceptance in contract law cases, The general rule is that acceptance must be communicated towards the offeror for the benefit of the offeror. The offeror might waive this requirement. In such matters, the law of acceptance might be effective even before it comes to the notice of the offeror. The law of acceptance cannot be inferred from silence. There should be an expressed or implied intimation from the offeror demonstrating a mode other than communication, and there should be some overt act as per the prescribed mode showing an intention to accept.

Acceptance could also be implied or express

When an offer is accepted, it becomes an agreement. Without acceptance of the offer, a contract between two individuals cannot arise. The definition of law of acceptance as per the Indian Contract Act, 1872 states that “When the individual towards whom the proposal is made gives his assent thereto, the proposal is accepted. When a proposal is accepted, it becomes a promise.”

When the offer is made as well as accepted both the individuals become bound by means of the agreement and not before that. The proposal or acceptance once made in any other method than words then the promise is believed to be implied. Acceptance should carry the effect of communication even if it is implied. Acceptance could also be made in words either written or spoken. The most vital thing, in either case, is that acceptance should be communicated towards the offeror either by the offeree or by means of some duly authorized agent on his behalf. Also, the performance of the provisions of the proposal is the acceptance of the proposal. In some circumstances, the offeree's silence, along with his behavior also amounts towards being an acceptance. This is recognized as ‘agreement sub silentio’.

One of the most Important cases related to communication of acceptance in Contract law cases (is Powell vs Lee case law).

Powell vs. Lee case law– In Powell vs Lee case law the plaintiff Powell has applied for a post of a headmaster and his application has been accepted by the school board. Before the formal appointment was made, one of the board members had informed Powell of the decision which was later withdrawn by the Board. Powell sued the school for breach of contract. The court stated that the acceptance was not communicated through someone authorized by the school board and therefore there was no valid contract.

Towards an acceptance(acceptance case law) being treated as valid, it is essential that the same should be communicated to the offeror either by the offeree or by means of some duly authorized individual on his behalf. So, in the Powell vs Lee case law we saw that, If the communication is made by means of an unauthorized individual, it does not become a contract.