ESSENTIALS ELEMENTS OF OFFER
1. There must be two parties For making any proposal or offer there must be at least two parties. One person makes a proposal regarding the contract and after accepting it, the other person shows his intention to enter into the contract.
2. Every proposal must be communicated The offer can’t be valid if it isn’t communicated properly to the party. Sec 4 of Indian Contract Act states that communication of offer is complete only when the person for whom it is made, came to know about the offer. Lalman Shukla V. Gauri Duty(1913) In this case, Allahabad High Court held that if there was no communication of offer to the offeree and still the person does their part of work then it is not a proposal and no acceptance on the behalf of that person will be considered.
3. It must create legal relationship Proposal will be considered valid only if there is intention to create a legal relationship. An offer should be in such a manner that after entering into contract the parties must have some legal obligations and consideration towards each other. And in case of non performance of contract they can claim for damages under breach of contract. Balfour v. Balfour (1919) In this case, the wife filed a case against her husband as he promised her to pay a certain amount of money and he failed to do so. The court held that the husband was not liable as there was no intention to create any legal relationship.
4. It must be certain and definite The terms and conditions for the offer should be clear to parties for whom the offer has been made.
