When two or more persons make a joint promise, the promisee may, in the absence of express agreement to the contrary, compel any one or more of such joint promisors to perform the whole of the promise.
Each of two or more joint promisors may compel every other joint promisor to contribute equally with himself to the performance of the promise, unless a contrary intention appears from the contract.
If any one of two or more joint promisors makes default in such contribution, the remaining joint promisors must bear the loss arising from such default in equal shares.
Explanation. — Nothing in this section shall prevent a surety from recovering from his principal, payments made by the surety on behalf of the principal, or entitle the principal to recover anything from the surety on account of payments made by the principal.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 43
When two or more persons make a joint promise, the promisee may, in the absence of an express contrary agreement, compel any single joint promisor or any combination of them to perform the entire contract. This provision establishes a statutory regime of joint and several liability, relieving commercial creditors of the burden of suing all co-promisors simultaneously to obtain complete recovery.
Furthermore, if any co-promisor defaults or becomes insolvent, the resulting loss must be borne equally among the remaining solvent co-promisors, ensuring fair risk distribution across syndicated borrowers, co-guarantors, and general commercial partners.
Under Section 43, creditors possess the procedural tactical advantage of suing the most solvent joint promisor for the entire debt. Co-promisors must anticipate this exposure by executing comprehensive inter-se indemnity agreements specifying contribution percentages.