Transfer of Property Act, 1882
35. Election when necessary
Where a person professes to transfer property which he has no
right to transfer, and as part of the same transaction confers any benefit on
the owner of the property, such owner must elect either to confirm such
transfer or to dissent from it; and in the latter case he shall relinquish the
benefit so conferred, and the benefit so relinquished shall revert to the
transferor or his representative as if it had not been disposed of, subject
nevertheless,
where the transfer is gratuitous, and the transferor has, before
the election, died or otherwise become incapable of making a fresh transfer,
and in all cases where the transfer is for consideration, to the charge of
making good to the disappointed transferee the amount or value of the property
attempted to be transferred to him.
Illustrations
The farm of Sultanpur is the property of C and worth Rs. 800. A
by an instrument of gift professes to transfer it to B, giving by the same
instrument Rs. 1,000 to C. C elects to retain the farm. He forfeits the gift of
Rs. 1,000. In the same case, A dies before the election. His representative
must out of the Rs. 1,000 pay Rs. 800 to B.
The rule in the first paragraph of this section applies whether
the transferor does or does not believe that which he professes to transfer to
be his own.
A person taking no benefit directly under a transaction, but
deriving a benefit under it indirectly, need not elect.
A person who in his own capacity takes a benefit under the
transaction may in another dissent there from.
Exception to the last preceding four rules : Where a particular
benefit is expressed to be conferred on the owner of the property which the
transferor professes to transfer, and such benefit is expressed to be in lieu
of that property, if such owner claims the property, he must relinquish the
particular benefit, but he is not bound to relinquish any other benefit
conferred upon him by the same transaction.
Acceptance of the benefit by the person on whom it is conferred
constitutes an election by him to confirm the transfer, if he is aware of his
duty to elect and of those circumstances which would influence the judgment of
a reasonable man in making an election, or if he waives enquiry into the
circumstances.
Such knowledge or waiver shall, in the absence of evidence to
the contrary, be presumed, if the person on whom the benefit has been conferred
has enjoyed it for two years without doing any act to express dissent.
Such knowledge or waiver may be inferred from any act of his
which renders it impossible to place the persons interested in the property
professed to be transferred in the same condition as if such act had not been
done.
Illustration
A transfers to B an estate to which C is entitled, and as part
of the same transaction gives C a coal-mine. C takes possession of the mine and
exhausts it. He has thereby confirmed the transfer of the estate to B.
If he does not within one year after the date of the transfer
signify to the transferor or his representatives his intention to confirm or to
dissent from the transfer, the transferor or his representative may, upon the
expiration of that period, require him to make his election; and, if he does
not comply with such requisition within a reasonable time after he has received
it, he shall be deemed to have elected to confirm the transfer.
In case of disability, the election shall be postponed until the
disability ceases, or until the election is made by some competent authority.