Mr. ‘A’ who lives in Ambala gives his motor-cycle to his friend ‘B’ for going to Kurukshetra. ‘B’ instead of going to Kurukshetra drives the motor-cycle for going to Chandigarh. While coming back from Chandigarh to Ambala he met with an accident.......Can ‘A’ claim damages from ‘B’?....

Question: Mr. ‘A’ who lives in Ambala gives his motor-cycle to his friend ‘B’ for going to Kurukshetra. ‘B’ instead of going to Kurukshetra drives the motor-cycle for going to Chandigarh. He drives the motor-cycle with reasonable care. While coming back from Chandigarh to Ambala he met with an accident and motor-cycle is totally damaged. Can ‘A’ claim damages from ‘B’? Give reasons.

Find the answer to the mains question of the Law of Contract only on Legal Bites. [Mr. ‘A’ who lives in Ambala gives his motor-cycle to his friend ‘B’ for going to Kurukshetra. ‘B’ instead of going to Kurukshetra drives the motor-cycle for going to Chandigarh. He drives the motor-cycle with reasonable care. While coming back from Chandigarh to Ambala he met with an accident and motor-cycle is totally damaged. Can ‘A’ claim damages from ‘B’? Give reasons.]

Answer

In the given scenario, the relationship between Mr. 'A' and his friend 'B' can be understood in the context of a bailment, which is governed by the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

A bailment occurs when one person (the bailor) delivers goods to another person (the bailee) for a specific purpose, with an implied or express agreement that the goods will be returned or disposed of according to the bailor's directions. In this case, Mr. 'A' is the bailor, and 'B' is the bailee.

According to Section 148 of the Indian Contract Act, the bailee is bound to take reasonable care of the goods bailed to him. This means that 'B' has a duty to exercise reasonable care in handling and using the motor-cycle while it is in his possession.

However, 'B' deviated from the intended purpose of the bailment by driving the motorcycle to Chandigarh instead of Kurukshetra. The deviation from the agreed-upon destination may be considered a breach of the bailment agreement, as 'B' exceeded the scope of the bailment.

Under Section 151 of the Indian Contract Act, the bailee is liable for any loss or damage to the goods bailed if it occurs due to his wrongful act, neglect, or default. However, it is mentioned in the scenario that 'B' drove the motor-cycle with reasonable care and that the damage was caused by an accident. If 'B' can establish that the accident occurred despite exercising reasonable care, he may be able to argue that the damage to the motor-cycle was not due to his wrongful act, neglect, or default. In such a case, 'B' may not be held liable for the total damage to the motor-cycle.