What is a Voidable Contract?
Voidable contract is the contract which can be enforceable only at the option of one of the two parties to a contract. In this kind of contract, one party is authorized legally to make a decision to perform or not to perform his part. The party aggrieved is independent to chose the action. The right may arise since the consent of the concerned party is influenced by fraud, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation, etc. The contract then becomes valid until the aggrieved party does not cancel it. Further, the aggrieved party has the right to claim damages from the other party.
For example, A says to B that he should sell his new bungalow to him at a nominal price, otherwise, he will damage his property and B enters into a contract due to fear. In this situation, the contract is voidable as the consent of B is not free, so he has the right to avoid the performance on his part and in addition, he can also claim for any damages caused to him.
Difference between Void and Voidable Contract
When an agreement is enforceable by law, it becomes a Contract. Based on validity, there are several types of contracts, i.e. Valid contracts, Void contracts, Illegal contracts, etc. Void contracts and Voidable contracts are mostly misconstrued, but they are different. A void contract implies a contract that lacks enforceability by law and is not valid from the beginning, whereas a Voidable contract alludes to a formal contract between two parties that could become void on various legal grounds.