Essentials of Bailment under the Indian Contract Act: Concept, Cases &
Notes
S. 148. "Bailment", "bailor" and "bailee" defined.
Bailment is a relationship where the personal property of one person temporarily goes into
the possession of another. The ownership of the goods remains with one person (the
bailor), while the possession is held by another (the bailee). This relationship is common in
various everyday situations, such as delivering an item for repair, leaving a vehicle at a
stand, depositing luggage in a cloakroom, giving gold to a goldsmith for ornament making,
or delivering goods for dry-cleaning, carriage, warehousing, or storage.
The Indian Contract Act, Section 148, defines bailment as "the delivery of goods by one
person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that they shall, when the purpose is
accomplished, be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the
person delivering them".
The person delivering the goods is called the "bailor".
The person to whom they are delivered is called the "bailee".
An important explanation in Section 148 clarifies that if a person already possesses
another's goods and then contracts to hold them as a bailee, they become the bailee, and the
owner becomes the bailor, even if there was no initial delivery specifically for bailment.
The definition highlights three essential features of bailment:
1. Delivery of Possession:
This is the primary characteristic of bailment.
Distinction from mere custody: Delivery of possession must be distinguished from simple
custody. Someone with custody but not possession, like a servant, or a guest using a host's
goods, is not a bailee. The goods must be handed over to the bailee for the purpose of the
bailment, and once this occurs, a bailment arises regardless of how it happened.
Examples:
1. In one case, a waiter taking a customer's coat in a restaurant, without being asked, and
hanging it up, created a bailment. The restaurant-keeper was held liable as a bailee because
the waiter, by taking possession, relieved the customer of its care and assumed
responsibility. However, if the customer had instructed the servant on where and how to
put the coat, the outcome might have been different.
2. Conversely, when a lady delivered jewels to a goldsmith for making new ones but took
back the half-made jewels every evening, placing them in a box in the goldsmith's room
and keeping the key herself, it was held that any bailment ceased when she regained
Notes
S. 148. "Bailment", "bailor" and "bailee" defined.
Bailment is a relationship where the personal property of one person temporarily goes into
the possession of another. The ownership of the goods remains with one person (the
bailor), while the possession is held by another (the bailee). This relationship is common in
various everyday situations, such as delivering an item for repair, leaving a vehicle at a
stand, depositing luggage in a cloakroom, giving gold to a goldsmith for ornament making,
or delivering goods for dry-cleaning, carriage, warehousing, or storage.
The Indian Contract Act, Section 148, defines bailment as "the delivery of goods by one
person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that they shall, when the purpose is
accomplished, be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the
person delivering them".
The person delivering the goods is called the "bailor".
The person to whom they are delivered is called the "bailee".
An important explanation in Section 148 clarifies that if a person already possesses
another's goods and then contracts to hold them as a bailee, they become the bailee, and the
owner becomes the bailor, even if there was no initial delivery specifically for bailment.
The definition highlights three essential features of bailment:
1. Delivery of Possession:
This is the primary characteristic of bailment.
Distinction from mere custody: Delivery of possession must be distinguished from simple
custody. Someone with custody but not possession, like a servant, or a guest using a host's
goods, is not a bailee. The goods must be handed over to the bailee for the purpose of the
bailment, and once this occurs, a bailment arises regardless of how it happened.
Examples:
1. In one case, a waiter taking a customer's coat in a restaurant, without being asked, and
hanging it up, created a bailment. The restaurant-keeper was held liable as a bailee because
the waiter, by taking possession, relieved the customer of its care and assumed
responsibility. However, if the customer had instructed the servant on where and how to
put the coat, the outcome might have been different.
2. Conversely, when a lady delivered jewels to a goldsmith for making new ones but took
back the half-made jewels every evening, placing them in a box in the goldsmith's room
and keeping the key herself, it was held that any bailment ceased when she regained
