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Section 102: Sections 76 to 123 [Repealed by the Indian Sale of Goods Act, 1930]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 101 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 103

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 102

Historical Section 102 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 detailed the specific legal requirements regarding the person to whom notice of stoppage must be communicated, distinguishing between notice to the person who has immediate custody of the goods and notice to the principal carrier. Transposed into Section 52(1) of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, this provision governs the operational transmission of instructions within commercial logistics networks.

  • Immediate Custodian vs Corporate Principal: Notice can be served either on the servant having direct physical custody (e.g. shipmaster, station master) or on the principal entity (e.g. shipping line or railway board).
  • Standard of Reasonable Diligence: Where notice is served on the corporate principal, it takes legal effect only if served early enough for the principal, using reasonable commercial diligence, to transmit the command to the agent at the point of discharge.
  • Liability for Wrongful Delivery After Notice: A carrier who delivers goods to the insolvent buyer after receiving a timely and valid notice of stoppage commits statutory conversion and becomes strictly liable to the unpaid vendor for the value of the goods.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Kemp v. Falk (1882) 7 App Cas 573 (HL): The House of Lords held that notice of stoppage given to a shipping company in London is valid if transmitted with reasonable speed to the captain at sea, and the carrier is liable if negligence in transmitting the notice results in delivery to an insolvent consignee.
  • Firm Gangadhar Ramchandra v. Firm Lachminarayan AIR 1957 MP 89: The High Court held that where notice under the statutory equivalent of Section 102 is served on the railway authorities before physical delivery to the consignee, the railway is legally bound to withhold delivery, and delivery made in defiance thereof renders the carrier liable for conversion.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In suits against carriers for wrongful delivery post-stoppage, produce electronic timestamps, fax receipts, and tracking acknowledgments demonstrating the exact hour of notice. Frame the plaint under statutory conversion and tortious breach of bailee duties to maximize recovery of damages and transit interest.

Section 101 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 103