Question:medium

Where the relations subsisting between the parties are such that one of the parties is in aposition to dominate the will of the other and uses that position to obtain an unfairadvantage over the other is known as

Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • Coercion
  • Misrepresentation
  • Fraud
  • Undue Influence
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Contract law recognises several ways consent can be tainted, coercion, undue influence, fraud, and misrepresentation, and each targets a different kind of unfairness. The safest way to answer this is to identify what specifically is being abused in each case.

  1. Coercion: what is abused here is an unlawful threat, the pressure comes from an outside act forbidden by law or from unlawfully holding onto property, not from a standing relationship of dominance.
  2. Misrepresentation: what is abused here is trust in an honestly, if wrongly, stated fact, there is no dominance of one party's will by the other, just a false belief passed on in good faith.
  3. Fraud: what is abused here is trust in a fact known to be false, told with intent to deceive, again this works through deception about facts, not through controlling the other side's will.
  4. Undue Influence: what is abused here is a position of dominance built into the relationship itself, such as a doctor and patient, a guardian and ward, or a trustee and beneficiary, where one side can lean on that existing power to extract an unfair advantage. This is exactly the mechanism the question describes.

The relationship-based dominance described in the question is the specific feature that Section 16 sets aside as its own separate ground, undue influence.

The correct answer is Undue Influence.

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