Rahul, a transporter was entrusted with the duty of transporting tomatoes from a rural farm to a city by Aswin. Due to heavy rains, Rahul was…

Agent's authority in an emergency (Section 189 of the Indian Contract Act,1872): An agent has authority, in an emergency, to do all such acts for the purpose of protecting his principal from loss as would be done by a person of ordinary prudence, in his own case, under similar circumstances. In the instant case, Rahul, the agent, was handling perishable goods like ‘tomatoes’ and can decide the time, date and place of sale, not necessarily as per instructions of the Aswin, the principal, with the intention of protecting Aswin from losses. Here, Rahul acts in an emergency as a man of ordinary prudence, so Aswin will not succeed against him for recovering the loss.