BJS Preparation Series-The Contract Act, 1872(Problem Solving, Topic: Acceptance)
BJS Exam (Preliminary, Written, Viva)
Preparation Series
Question: ‘P’ applied for the principalship of a local college and
the Governing Body of the college passed a resolution appointing him. The
appointment was not formally communicated to him but one of the members
privately told him of his selection after the meeting. The resolution was
subsequently rescinded. ‘P’ claimed the post of principal. Will ‘P’ succeed?
Give reasons in support of your answer and also refer case-law, if any, on the
point.
Answer: No, ‘P’ will not succeed in this case-Powell v. Lee, (1908) 24 TLR 606.
Reasons: The facts of this problem is similar to the famous case
of Powell v. Lee. In this case the plaintiff applied for the post of
headmaster-ship of a school and the Board of Managers of the school passed a
resolution selecting him for the post. One of the managers acting in his
individual capacity, informed the plaintiff what had occurred in the meeting.
In the next meeting the resolution of the previous meeting selecting the plaintiff
was rescinded and the plaintiff was not appointed to the post. The court held
that there was no authorized communication of his selection and therefore there
was no completed contract. The manager who informed the plaintiff of the
resolution passed in the meeting of the Board of Managers was not authorised by
the Board to communicate the information to the plaintiff. Hence, the
communication was unauthorized, and therefore, it was not sufficient to
complete the contract.
Thus, it is clear that for a
binding contract the acceptance must be communicated by the offeree or his
authorised agent. Communication of acceptance by an unauthorised person does
not create a binding contract.
In the given problem ‘P’ was
informed about his appointment or the post of principalship by a member in
private capacity and not communicated by Governing Body of the college or its
authorised agent in official capacity. Thus, the communication is unauthorised
and does not create a binding contract and ‘P’ will not succeed if he claims
the post of principalship on the basis of communication made by an unauthorised
member of Governing Body in its private capacity.
Author's blogspot address link:
https://judicialmagistratenazmulhasan.blogspot.com/
Author's academia address link:
https://independent.academia.edu/NazmulHasan222
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