bona fide

Bona fide describes an act or person acting honestly. A bona fide purchaser is one who buys for value without notice of a defect in the seller's title. Its opposite is mala fide (in bad faith).

Indian statutes define good faith in two different ways, and the difference matters. Under the General Clauses Act, a thing is done in good faith if done honestly, whether negligently or not. Under the BNS, nothing is done in good faith which is done without due care and attention. So in criminal law honesty alone is not enough; carelessness defeats a plea of good faith.

Example

Because she paid the full price and had no notice of the earlier agreement, she was a bona fide purchaser for value protected under s.19(b) of the Specific Relief Act.

In Indian law

• Section 3(22), General Clauses Act, 1897 (good faith: honesty, even if negligent)
• Section 2(11), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (old s.52 IPC): good faith requires due care and attention

See also

mala fide · holder in due course · ostensible owner

Read more in the study notes

• Audi alteram partem: the right to a fair hearing (Administrative Law)
• Administrative discretion and its judicial review (Administrative Law)
• Judicial control: public and private law remedies, writ procedure and ouster clauses (Administrative Law)
• Government contracts and state liability: the administrative-law angle (Administrative Law)
• Public corporations and public undertakings: status, classification, liability and control (Administrative Law)
• Conciliation: meaning, kinds and the role of the conciliator (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)