Mercantile Law
Subject Overview
Mercantile Law is the legal backbone every business decision rests on — contracts, partnerships, sale of goods, and negotiable instruments. You'll start with the Indian Contract Act (offer, acceptance, consideration, valid vs. void vs. voidable contracts, breach and remedies), move through the laws of indemnity, guarantee, bailment, pledge and agency, and the Partnership Act. The third unit covers the Sale of Goods Act and Consumer Protection Act, and the paper closes with the Negotiable Instruments Act — promissory notes, bills of exchange, and cheques. This is a 6-credit core paper across 4 units, and it's essential grounding for Company Law and Income Tax Law in later semesters.
Unit-wise Syllabus
4 units — click WhatsApp below to get the full notes for each
Unit 1: Indian Contract Act
Agreement and kinds of agreements, valid, void, voidable, contingent and quasi contracts, offer and acceptance, capacity to contract, free consent, consideration, legality of object, performance and discharge of contract, remedies for breach
Unit 2: Indemnity, guarantee, agency & partnership
Law of indemnity and guarantee, law of bailment and pledge, law of agency, Partnership Act — admission, retirement and death of a partner, dissolution of a partnership firm
Unit 3: Sale of Goods Act & Consumer Protection Act
Formalities of a contract of sale, distinction between sale and agreement to sell, sale vs. hire-purchase agreement, conditions and warranties, transfer of property, rights of an unpaid seller, objectives, features and structure of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Unit 4: Negotiable Instruments Act
Meaning and characteristics of negotiable instruments, classification, promissory notes and bills of exchange, acceptance and its types, cheques and dishonour penalties, holder and holder in due course, maturity of an instrument