| Category of Bare Act | Name of the Act | Year of Promulgation |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Laws | Indian Contract Act, 1872 | 1872 |
| Act Number | Enactment Date | Chapter Number |
| 9 | 1872-04-25 | 8 |
| Chapter Title | Ministry | Department |
| Of indemnity and guarantee | Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department | Department of Law and Legislative Affairs |
A 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 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 existence of such security or not; and if the creditor loses, or without the consent of the surety, parts with such security, the surety, the surety is discharged to the extent of the value of the security.
Illustrations
(a) C, advances to B, his tenant, 2,000 rupees on the guarantee of A. C has also a further security for the 2,000 rupees by a mortgage of B’s furniture. C, cancels the mortgage. B becomes insolvent and C sues A on his guarantee. A is discharged from liability to the amount of the value of the furniture.
(b) C, a creditor, whose advance to B is secured by a decree, receives also a guarantee for that advance from A. C afterwards takes B’s goods in execution under the decree, and then, without the knowledge of A, withdraws the execution. A is discharged.
(c) A, as surety for B, makes a bond jointly with B to C, to secure a loan from C to B. Afterwards, C obtains from B a further security for the same debt. Subsequently, C gives up the further security. A is not discharged.
Comments
Meaning of security
Creditor cannot be said to have lost or parted with a security, without consent of the surety, unless there has been some voluntary act by him; Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd. v. Cannanore Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd., (2002) 5 SCC 54.
