bailment
Under s.148 of the Contract Act, bailment is the delivery of goods by one person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that they shall be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the person delivering them when the purpose is accomplished. The person delivering is the bailor, the one receiving is the bailee.
Only movable goods can be bailed, and possession (not ownership) passes. The bailee must take as much care as a man of ordinary prudence would of his own goods, must not use them inconsistently with the bailment, and must return them. A deposit of money is not bailment, because the same notes need not be returned. A pledge is a bailment of goods as security for a debt.
Example
Leaving a car with a service centre for repair is a bailment, so the centre was liable when the car was stolen from its unlocked yard, having failed the care required by s.151.
In Indian law
- Section 148, Indian Contract Act, 1872 (bailment defined)
- Sections 151 and 152, Indian Contract Act, 1872 (care to be taken by bailee)
- Section 170, Indian Contract Act, 1872 (bailee's particular lien)
See also
pledge · lien · contract · possession
Read more in the study notes
- Banker and customer: who they are and the legal character of the relationship (Banking Law)
- Rights of a banker: lien, set-off, appropriation and charges (Banking Law)
- Duties of banker and customer: honouring cheques and secrecy of accounts (Banking Law)
- Lending by banks: principles, priority sector, securities, interest and penalty (Banking Law)
- Criminal misappropriation and criminal breach of trust (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
- Estoppel (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)