What is Consideration in Indian Contract Act

Anything given or promised or forborne by promissory in exchange for the promise or undertaking of another in a lawful agreement.

Consideration means a reasonable equivalent or other valuable benefit passed on by the promisor to the promise or by the transferor to the transferee.

Blackstone- consideration is the recompense (repay) given by the party contracting to the other.

in other word is the price of the promise.

Pollock – consideration is the price for which the promise of the other is bought, and the promise thus given for value is enforceable.

Patterson- consideration means something which is of some value in the eye of law. It may be some be some benefit to the plaintiff or some determent to the defendant.

Calcutta high court- consideration is the price of a promise, a return or quid pro quo, something of value received by the promise as inducement of the promise.

Consideration is not be confounded with motive. Consideration means something which is

Section 2(d)- when, at the desire of the promisor ,the promise or any other person had done or abstained from doing or does or abstained from doing, or promise to do or abstain from doing, something, such act or abstinence or promise is called a consideration for the promise.

Illustrations-

1. 1. A promises, for no consideration, to give to B Rs. 1000. This is a void agreement.
2. 2. A, finds B's purse and give it to him. B promise to give A Rs 50. This is a valid contract.

Kind of Consideration-

1. Adequate-fair and reasonable under the circumstances of the agreement. It refers where there was a fair bargain involving an exchange of equal value.

Explanation- an agreement to which the consent of the promisor is freely given is not void merely because the consideration is inadequate, but the inadequacy of the consideration may be taken into account by the court in determining the question whether the consent of the promisor was freely given.

1. Sufficient-whether the consideration is legally sufficient to enforce a promise.

Consideration in Indian law.

Section 10- defines a lawful consideration is the essential ingredients of  a valid contract.

Further Section 25- An agreement without consideration is void unless-

1. 1. It is in writing or registered- it is express in writing or registered under the law for the time being in force for the registration of and is made on account of natural love and affection between parties standing in a near relation to each other.

Illustrations

A, for natural love and affection, promises to give his son, B, Rs 1000. A puts his promise to B into writing and registers it. This is a contract.

1. 2. Promise to compensate for something done-it is a promise to compensate, wholly or in part, a person has already voluntarily done something for the promisor, or something which the promisor was legally compellable to do
2. 3. A promise to pay a debt barred by limitation law- it is a promise made in writing and signed by the person to be charged therewith, or by his agent generally or specially authorized in that behalf, to pay wholly or in part a debt of which the creditor might have enforced payment but for the law for the law of limitation of suit.

Conclusion- Thus consideration shall be something which not only parties regard but the can regarded as having some value. Consideration must be real and not illusory, whether adequate or not, adequacy being a matter purely for the contracting parties to decide and to agree upon