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Section 100: Sections 76 to 123 [Repealed by the Indian Sale of Goods Act, 1930]

Indian Contract Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1872
Section 99 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 101

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 100

Historical Section 100 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defined the duration, commencement, and termination of the transit period during which the right of stoppage in transitu could be lawfully exercised. Transposed into Section 51 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the statutory boundary determines precisely when transit begins (upon delivery to the carrier) and when it terminates (upon the buyer or his agent taking actual possession or the carrier attorning to the buyer).

  • Commencement of Transit: Transit begins from the exact moment the goods are delivered to a carrier (by land, water, or air) or other bailee for the purpose of transmission to the buyer.
  • Premature Termination by Carrier Attornment: Transit ends before physical arrival if the carrier acknowledges to the buyer or his agent that he holds the goods on the buyer's behalf, converting the carrier from an intermediary into the buyer's bailee.
  • Rejection by Buyer Preserves Transit: If the goods are rejected by the buyer upon arrival and the carrier continues in possession, the transit is not deemed at an end, preserving the unpaid seller's right of stoppage.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Bethell v. Clark (1888) 20 QBD 615: High authority on the transit boundary holding that goods remain in transit so long as they are in the hands of the carrier as carrier, and transit ceases the moment they arrive at the destination where the buyer has ordered them to be forwarded and are held for him.
  • Great Indian Peninsula Railway Co. v. Hanmandas Ramkison (1889) ILR 14 Bom 57: The Bombay High Court ruled that delivery of railway receipts without unconditional attornment by the railway administration does not terminate transit, keeping the unpaid vendor's right of stoppage alive until physical discharge or carrier's attornment.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In freight and transit litigation, maintain an exact chronological log of carrier correspondence. If the carrier claims transit ended, compel disclosure of the delivery register and gate passes; if the carrier never formally attorned to the buyer or if goods remained in the carrier's transit shed, transit legally subsisted.

Section 99 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 101