Multiple choice

In which case oral evidence cannot be given?

  1. ‘A’ hired lodgings of ‘B’ and gives to ‘B’ a card on which he wrote “Rooms, Rs. 2000/- a month”. ‘A’ in a suit wants to prove verbal agreement that the terms included partial board.

  2. ‘A’ hired lodgings of ‘B’ for a year. A regularly stamped agreement was drawn up by an attorney and signed by both of them. The document is silent on the subject of board. ‘A’ in a suit wants to prove verbal agreement that the terms included partial board.

  3. Both in (1) and in (2)

  4. Neither in (1) nor in (2)

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Option B is correct. Section 91 of the Evidence Act provides that when terms of a contract or grant are reduced to writing, oral evidence cannot be given to contradict, vary, add to, or subtract from its terms. The regularly stamped signed agreement is a formal written contract covering the material terms. Since it's silent on board, oral evidence cannot add that term under Section 91. In option A, the card 'Rooms Rs. 2000/- a month' is not a formal written contract of all terms - it's a mere acknowledgment, so oral evidence may be given to explain partial board terms.