COERCION

 COERCION

l Definition of Coercion

Section 15 of the CA, 1950 provides that "Coercion" is the committing, or threatening to commit, any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code, or the unlawful detaining, or threatening to detain, any property, to the prejudice of any person whatever, with the intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement.”

 

l Elements of coercion

-The coercion must be the committing of an act forbidden by the Penal Code

        -The coercion must be the unlawful detaining or threatening to detain any property.

        -The act of  coercion  must be carried out with the intention  of causing any person to enter into               an agreement.

 

l Case of coercion

Kesarmal s/o Letchman Das v Valiappa Chettiar

In this case, a transfer of property was made under ‘the orders of the Sultan, issued in the presence of 2 Japanese officers during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia .

It was held that the transfer of land contract was not valid as the consent given was under a threat and not free.

 

l Duress

English law refers to coercion as duress. The accepted test for duress is whether there had been the “coercion of the will so as to vitiate consent” and this is limited to actual or threatened violence or imprisonment. However, English law does not recognized duress of goods such as unlawful detention of property or threatened detention of a man’s goods so as to coerce to enter into the agreement.

 

l Case of Duress

Universe Tankships Inc of Monrovia v International Transport Workers Federation

The defendant black bannied Plaintiff’s ship. To get it released the owners inter alia paid $6,480 into the ITF’s welfare fund. It was held that the payment was recoverable as it had been extracted by duress.

 

l Effects of coercion

S.19 of the CA 1950 provides when consent to an agreement is caused by coercion and the agreement is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.

 

l Remedies

As stated in Section 65, where a person at whose option a contract is voidable rescinds it, the other party thereto need not perform any promise therein contained in which he is promisor.