Case Comment: Annada Mohan Roy v. Gour Mohan Mullick

The decision that has been come in the case of Annada Mohan Roy v. Gour Mohan Mullick by the Privy Council’s judicial Committee in the year 1923 is a significant landmark case in the Indian Contract Act and The Property Law. The decision upheld the rule that a simple expectancy of succession, or Spes Successionis, cannot be transferred under Section 6(a) of the Transfer of Property Act, 18821. In the dispute, reversionary heirs of a Hindu who belonged to the Dayabhaga school tried to transfer their rights to future inheritance while widows with modest estates were still alive. Such transfers, or even contracts that contemplate future transfers, are void ab initio, the Privy Council clarified. Furthermore, the court decided that the Plaintiff cannot use these grounds for restitution or damages. The decision has long-term implications for defining the parameters of contractual freedom since it shows that contracts involving forbidden subject matter cannot be enforced either directly or indirectly.