Rights and Duties/Liabilities of the Bailor and Bailee
According to section 148 of the Indian Contract
Law, 1872, a Bond or Bailment is a contract in
which a person delivers goods to another person for some purpose. The person
who delivers the goods is the Bail and the person who receives the goods is the
Bailee. After fulfilling the purpose, the Bailee needs to return these goods to
the Bailor or dispose of them in accordance with the Bailor's instructions. Let
us now discuss the bailee and bail duties.
Bailment is a concept of customary law. Under customary law, bail is the process of placing personal property or assets in the custody or temporary control of another. For a valid bond, the depositary must have actual physical control of the property with the intention of owning it. The depositary generally has no right to use the property during its possession. An administrator can demand the return of the property at any time.
Explanation-
Under the Contract Law, the bond is considered a contract. Said contract consists of the following essential elements.
i. Delivery of goods:
For a valid bond, it is essential that the goods be released from one person to another. It means that the possession of goods must be changed.
ii. Delivery for some purpose:
It is necessary for a valid deposit that the goods are delivered for some purpose.
iii) Return or disposal of goods:
For a valid bond, it is also essential that the property be returned or disposed of in accordance with the bond's instructions when the purpose is fulfilled.
Bailee and Bailor
The bond refers to the voluntary delivery of goods. In addition, said delivery is for a temporary purpose and after the fulfillment of which the depositary or bailee must return the goods in the same way or alter or dispose of them.
In the surety contract, ownership of the goods remains with the surety or Bailor and only the possession is transferred to the depositary or bailee. Such delivery of goods can be real or constructive.
For example, when A hands over the keys of a godown to B, it equals the delivery of goods on the godown. Also, A is the bailor and B is the bailee.
Bailee Rights-
1. Right to obtain compensation.
2. Right to terminate the bond contract.
If the terms and conditions are decided by the parties when making a contract and the goods do not agree with the terms and conditions of the contract, the transferee has the right to terminate the contract.
3. Right to obtain expenses.
If the concessionaire incurs the expenses related to the salvaged goods, then the successful bidder is entitled to obtain the expenses.
Duties of a Bailee-
The duties of an assignee with respect to the assets are as follows:
1. Take proper care of goods:
Pursuant to section 151, it is the duty of a concessionaire to take over the assets that were salvaged. Bailee must take care of these goods as a common man will take care of her goods of the same value, quality and quantity.
Therefore, if the concessionaire properly deals with the goods, he will not be responsible for any loss or deterioration of said goods. In addition, the depositary must have the same degree of care for the assets, whether the deposit is reward or free.
However, the depositary is not responsible for any loss due to the occurrence of any act of God or public enemies, although he agrees to take special care of the goods.
2. Do not make unauthorized use:
If Bailee makes use of the collected assets and such use is not in accordance with the conditions of the bond, she is responsible for compensating the agent for any damage caused to the goods during said use according to Sections 153 and 154.
3. Keep the products separate:
The player must keep the assets separate from his own assets. You must not mix bail assets with your own assets. In the event that Bailee mixes the assets with his own assets without the agent's consent, then:
i. Bailor also has an interest in mixing.
ii. If the assets can be separated or divided, ownership in the assets remains with both parties. But, the depositary bears the costs of separation or any damage arising from the mixture.
iii) If it is not possible to separate the assets, the depositary will compensate the deposit for the loss of assets.
4. Do not establish an adverse title:
An assignee must not establish adverse title to the salvaged property.
5. Return of goods:
The assignee's duty is to return the property without demanding the fulfillment of the purpose or the expiration of the period of time. In the event that you do not do so, you will be responsible for the loss, destruction, deterioration, damage or destruction of property, even without negligence.
6. Increased return or earnings:
An assignee must return the assets along with any increase or gain accruing on the assets on bond, in the absence of any contract to the contrary.
For example, A leaves a hen in B's custody. The hen becomes a chick. B will deliver the hen along with the chick to A.
Definition of Bailor:
In the bailment or bond, the person who delivers the goods is called a bailor.
Duties of a Bailor-
The following are bailor duties and responsibilities;
i. Disclosure of defects of salvaged property:
It is the duty of the surety agency to disclose any defect that is present in the assets that are being rescued.
ii. Reimbursement:
It is the agent's responsibility to pay all expenses the tenant spends for ransom purposes.
iii) Bailor's liability to Bailee:
The trust is responsible to the depositary for any loss it suffers in the following situations;
a. There is no right to rescue
The trustee is liable to the grantee for any loss, which the carrier assumes because the trust had no right to post the bond.
b. No right to recover rescued assets
Bailor is responsible to the depositary for any loss, which implies that the depositary had no right to recover the salvaged assets.
c. There is no right to give directions
Bailor is liable to the dealer for any loss, which the carrier assumes because the agent had no right to issue instructions.
Bailor Rights-
1. Right to recover your assets.
2. Right to obtain the increase or
benefit of the rescued assets.
3. Right to obtain compensation.
4. Right to terminate the contract.
Worked example on Bailee and Bailor duties
Explain Bailee's particular lien?
According to section 170 of the Indian Contract Law, 1872, the grantee has a lien on the property he receives under the bond contract. When the bail agent rescues the assets to the grantee for a particular purpose and the grantee expands the skill and labor on these assets, he has the right to retain the assets until the agent pays his charges regarding skill and job. However, the lien right arises only when the beneficiary uses skills and labor on the assets to confer additional value on them.
For example, X gives Y a piece of cloth to sew a shirt. And he promises to deliver the shirt within a week. After a week, Y has his shirt ready. But you have the right to keep him until X pays you his charges.
Section 171 sets out the provisions for a general lien. It is a right to stop any property that belongs to another person that is in the possession of the person who exercises the right of retention with respect to any payment legally due to him.
Conclusion:
To conclude, it can be stated that bail is the process of placing personal property or assets in the custody or temporary control of another. However, such temporary custody creates very strong duties and responsibilities for both the bond or bailor and the depositary or bailee.
