About the Author

Prof (Dr.) Anurag Singh is a Professor in Meerut College, Meerut since 2001. He did his Post Graduation in Maths, and completed his LL.M. with specialization in Business Law. Along with this, he is associated with Institute of Company Secretaries of India and is a Fellow Company Secretary. His area of interests includes Business Law, Environmental Law, ADR Clinical Legal Education and Legal Research. With over two decades of teaching experience, the author has dedicated much of his career to empowering individuals through legal education. His deep commitment to spreading legal knowledge led him to initiate “Legal Literacy and Awareness Camps” in rural areas, where he has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the law and those who lack access to legal resources and understanding. In addition to his teaching and community outreach, the author has an extensive body of scholarly work. He has contributed approximately thirty publications, including articles and chapters in various esteemed journals, books, and study modules of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). His contributions have enriched academic discussions in legal education and have been instrumental in shaping the learning materials for law students and professionals. His experience, coupled with his passion for making legal knowledge accessible, has culminated him to write a book for Hindi medium students and he wrote fof/kd vuqla/kku i)fr. After getting a good response from students and researchers he initiated to write this book.

Dr. Vikas Kumar is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Legal Studies, CCS University, Meerut. He did his Post Graduation in History and completed his LL.M. with specialization in Business Law. His areas of interest include Business Law, Constitutional Law, Right to Information Act and Legal Service Clinic. With over one and a half decades of teaching experience, the author has dedicated much of his career to empowering individuals through Business Law. He has contributed approximately 21 publications including articles and chapters in various esteemed journals and books. He is a person with a positive attitude, full of boldness required for tough decision making, committed, compassionate, diligent, dedicated and full of focus for his job. Four students are pursuing their Ph.D. under his supervision. He has guided research for more than 120 students leading to their respective master’s degrees. He has organized various legal aid clinics in rural and urban areas. His contributions have enriched academic discussions in the Law of Contract and have been instrumental in shaping the learning materials for law students and professionals. Through this book on Key Concepts and Legal Principles, he aims to provide law students and professionals with a clear, practical and student-friendly understanding of contractual principles.

Distinguishing Features Of The Third Edition

Contracts permeate every sphere of modern life. Millions of Indians enter into contracts daily, whether through purchase orders, business agreements, service and employment contracts, rental deeds, or digital transactions, often without a clear understanding of their legal rights and obligations. Soon after the usurpation of power after the Great Revolt of 1857, the British Government formed the Third Law Commission of India with the sole purpose of abandoning local laws in favour of a legislative “code” based on English common law. This ultimately led to the enactment of the Indian Contract Act of 1872. Despite many case laws of various British Courts finding place in this Act but the impact of ancient Indian laws enumerated in various texts is also clearly visible. Manusmriti and Kautilya’s Arthashastra provide a highly advanced secular law for merchant guilds (Shrenis). They laid down detailed rules for interest rates, deposits, agency, and partnerships, establishing that contracts must be executed in a public, transparent manner, provide detail debt agreements, pledges, and rules for breach of contract. The Narada Smriti outlines requirements for contract competency. Literary epics like the Ramayana feature narratives that mirror modern contract principles. For instance, promises made to reciprocate a favour, like Kewat offering a boat to Lord Rama without immediate payment, reflect early concepts of consideration.