minor

Under the Indian Majority Act, 1875 every person domiciled in India attains majority on completing eighteen years. A minor's agreement is void ab initio, not merely voidable, because a minor is not competent to contract. A minor cannot be made to ratify it on attaining majority, but can be a beneficiary, such as a promisee or a partner admitted to the benefits of a partnership.

In litigation a minor sues through a next friend and is defended by a guardian ad litem appointed by the court. In criminal law a child below seven cannot commit an offence, and one between seven and twelve is liable only if sufficiently mature; persons below eighteen are dealt with as juveniles.

Example

As the borrower was a minor, the mortgage he executed was void and the lender could not recover the loan.

In Indian law

• Section 3, Indian Majority Act, 1875; s.11, Indian Contract Act, 1872
• Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose (Privy Council, 1903): a minor's agreement is void
• Order XXXII, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (suits by or against minors)

See also

next friend · doli incapax · guardianship · juvenile

Read more in the study notes

• Corruption, maladministration and the ombudsman: Lokpal and Lokayukta (Administrative Law)
• Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Principal steps in arbitration and interim measures (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Negotiation: meaning, styles and approaches (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Mediation: meaning, the mediator and essential characteristics (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Stages of mediation, models of mediation and code of conduct for mediators (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)