“A contract is an agreement creating and defining obligations between the parties.” – Salmond
Prior to 1872, the English common law on contract applied to Indian citizens causing inconvenience. In order to stop this, the statutes were enacted to regulate contracts. The Indian Contract Act, 1872 (“ICA”) came into force on 1 September 1872. The preamble to ICA states that it is an Act “to define and amend certain parts of the law relating to contract”. ICA is by no means exhaustive on the law of contract. It does not deal with all the branches of the law of contract. Thus, contracts relating to partnership, sale of goods, negotiable instruments, insurance etc. are dealt with by separate statutes.