Under Section 2(g) of the Act, a Void Agreement is defined as: "An agreement not enforceable by law is said to be void." It has no legal existence and confers no rights on either party (void-ab-initio).
1. Void Agreement vs. Void Contract
Many students confuse these terms. Here is the vital legal distinction:
- Void Agreement: Lacks legal enforceability from the very beginning (e.g., minor's agreement under Sec 11, or an agreement with unlawful object under Sec 23). It was never a contract.
- Void Contract: Was a valid, enforceable contract when made, but later ceases to be enforceable due to supervening events (e.g., changes in law or destruction of the subject matter under Section 56).
2. List of Void Agreements in the Act
The Indian Contract Act explicitly declares several agreements to be void from their inception:
- Agreements by incompetent parties (Section 11)
- Agreements under bilateral mistake of fact (Section 20)
- Agreements with unlawful consideration/object (Section 23)
- Agreements without consideration (Section 25)
- Agreements in restraint of marriage (Section 26)
- Agreements in restraint of trade (Section 27)
- Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings (Section 28)
- Uncertain agreements (Section 29)
- Wagering agreements (Section 30)