Analysis of Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act in Relation to E-Contracts

The advancement of technology in the recent years have resulted in wide usage of electronic medium to form electronic contracts. In India, these electronic contracts are primarily regulated by the traditional contract law. Electronic contracts are considered to be valid and enforceable if they fulfill the essential elements for forming a contract. However, electronic contracts are often dynamic and different in their very nature, so there are many electronic contracts that fail to accurately meet the standard set forth by the contract law, therefore technically not valid. But due to the limitations of the existing contract regulating law, these flawed contracts are overlooked and often passed as valid contracts. The existence of these flawed but validated electronic contracts could have not only given rise to many complications but also raised certain precarious legal issues. This paper will throw light on how the essential elements of a valid contract laid down by the Indian Contract Act are often not fulfilled by the contemporary electronic contracts, the inadequacy of the existing contract regulating law and the legal issues that could arise out of these erroneously validated electronic contracts.