Dr.M.I.Itty vs Kerala Financial Corporation on 5 April, 2010
21. Section 141 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 stipulates that a
W.A.No.2002 of 2006
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surety is entitled to the benefit of every security which the creditor has
against the principal debtor at the time when the contract of suretyship
is entered into, whether the surety knows of the existence of such
security or not; and if the creditor loses, or without the consent of the
surety, parts with such security, the surety is discharged to the extent
of the value of the security. The Apex Court has in Industrial Finance
Corporation of India Ltd. v. Cannanore Spinning and Weaving
Mills Ltd. and others, (supra) interpreting Section 141 of the Indian
Contract Act held that where there was no deliberate act on the part of
the principal debtor which led to the loss of the security and the security
was lost not by any definite act of the creditor or the debtor, but by the
operation of law over which none of the parties had any control, it
cannot be said that the surety is discharged. The Apex Court also
negatived the contention that by reason of the non-availability of the
security in terms of Section 141 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the
contract of guarantee stood frustrated. Therefore, the guarantors
cannot be heard to contend that as the security offered by the company,
the principal debtor, has been lost, they are discharged to the extent of
the value of the security. In the light of the authoritative
pronouncement of the Apex Court, the contention based on Sections
140 and 141 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 cannot be sustained.