“An anticipatory breach of contract is a breach of contract occurring before the time fixed for performance has arrived". Discuss stating also the…

Provisions of Law: An anticipatory breach of contract is a breach of contract occurring before the time fixed for performance has arrived. When the promisor refuses altogether to perform his promise and signifies his unwillingness even before the time for performance has arrived, it is called Anticipatory Breach. The law in this regard has very well summed up in Frost vs. Knight and Hochster vs. DelaTour . Section 39 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 deals with anticipatory breach of contract and provides as follows: “When a party to a contract has refused to perform or disable himself from performing, his promise in its entirety, the promisee may put an end to the contract, unless he has signified, but words or conduct, his acquiescence in its continuance." Effect of anticipatory breach: The promisee is excused from performance or from further performance. Further he gets an option: (1) To either treat the contract as “rescinded and sue the other party for damages from breach of contract immediately without waiting until the due date of performance; or (2) He may elect not to rescind but to treat the contract as still operative, and wait for the time of performance and then hold the other party responsible for the consequences of non-performance. But in this case, he will keep the contract alive for the benefit of the other party as well as his own, and the guilty party, if he so decides on re-consideration, may still perform his part of the contract and can also take advantage of any supervening impossibility which may have the effect of discharging the contract.