Question:medium

Principle: A person, who is usually mad, but occasionally not mad, may make a contract when he is not mad.
Facts: ‘A’ generally remains in the state of madness and rarely becomes capable of understanding anything.

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The key is that the person must be in a state of mind capable of understanding the contract at the time of making it.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
  • A can make a contract.
  • A can never make a contract.
  • A can make a contract at any time whenever he pleases.
  • A can make a contract only for his own benefit.
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The Correct Option is A

Approach Solution - 1

The key word in the facts is "rarely" capable of understanding, meaning lucid intervals do occur, however infrequent.

  1. A can make a contract: Since A does occasionally regain understanding, those rare moments satisfy the principle's requirement that the contract be made when he is not mad.
  2. A can never make a contract: This treats A's rare lucid spells as if they don't exist, contradicting the facts.
  3. A can make a contract at any time he pleases: Too broad, the principle only permits contracting during sane intervals, not at will regardless of mental state.
  4. A can make a contract only for his own benefit: The principle says nothing about who benefits from the contract, only about A's mental state.

The correct answer is A can make a contract.

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Approach Solution -2

Testing each option by assuming it true and checking it against the facts.

  1. A can make a contract: Assume true, then A must have some window, however narrow, where he is capable of understanding. The facts say he rarely becomes capable of understanding, which is precisely such a window, so the assumption is consistent with what's given.
  2. A can never make a contract: Assume true, then the word rarely in the facts would have to mean never, which is a direct contradiction in terms. A state described as occurring rarely cannot simultaneously be a state that never occurs, so this assumption fails immediately.
  3. A can make a contract at any time whenever he pleases: Assume true, then A's general state of madness would have to be irrelevant to his capacity to contract, contracting would work regardless of his mental state at that moment. That assumption conflicts with the principle's own wording, which conditions validity specifically on the person not being mad at the time, so it cannot be reconciled with the rule.
  4. A can make a contract only for his own benefit: Assume true, then the principle would have to say something about beneficiaries. It doesn't, it speaks only to A's mental state at the time of contracting, so there is no textual basis for this assumption to rest on.

Only the assumption behind the first option survives, since the facts explicitly preserve a rare lucid state for A, which is all the principle requires for a valid contract.

Therefore, the correct answer is A can make a contract.

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