As per the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, if a contract

As per the provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, if a contract is contained in several letters, what must be proved?

Any one letter in which the contract is contained must be proved

Any letter which has the conclusion of the letter must be proved

All the letters in which the contract is contained must be proved

Only that letter of contract must be proved which has the disputed portion

Answer is Right!

Answer is Wrong!

This question was previously asked in

UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2018

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The correct answer is C) All the letters in which the contract is contained must be proved.

When a contract is contained in a series of letters, the entire series of letters collectively constitutes the documentary evidence of the contract. According to the principles of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, particularly Section 91, when the terms of a contract have been reduced to the form of a document or a series of documents, no evidence shall be given in proof of the terms of such contract except the document itself or secondary evidence where permissible. If the contract is formed through correspondence, all the letters that form part of and evidence the terms of the contract must be produced or accounted for (if the original is lost, secondary evidence may be given). Proving only one letter, or only the concluding one, or only the disputed portion in isolation would not give a complete and accurate picture of the entire contractual agreement.

This principle ensures that the court considers the entirety of the written agreement to understand its true nature and effect. The court must look at the whole correspondence to determine if a contract was formed and what its terms are.

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