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Indian Contract Act, 1872 · Chapter V: Of Certain Relations Resembling Those Created by Contract

Section 69: Reimbursement of person paying money due by another, in payment of which he is interested

In plain words

A person who has an interest in a payment that another is legally bound to make, and who makes that payment, is entitled to be reimbursed by the other.

Example: A tenant pays the landlord's overdue land revenue to stop a government sale that would cancel the lease. The landlord must reimburse the tenant.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓

Official text

A person who is interested in the payment of money which another is bound by law to pay, and who therefore pays it, is entitled to be reimbursed by the other.

Illustration

B holds land in Bengal, on a lease granted by A, the zamindar. The revenue payable by A to the Government being in arrear, his land is advertised for sale by the Government. Under the revenue law, the consequence of such sale will be the annulment of B's lease. B, to prevent the sale and the consequent annulment of his own lease, pays to the Government the sum due from A. A is bound to make good to B the amount so paid.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Understanding this section

Section 69 entitles a person who is interested in paying money that another is bound by law to pay, and who pays it, to be reimbursed by the person who was bound.

Key points

  • The payer must have an interest of their own in the payment, typically to protect their own property.
  • The other person must have been legally bound to pay.
  • The illustration: a person whose property would be sold for the zamindar's unpaid revenue pays it to save the property, and can recover it from the zamindar.
  • A volunteer with no interest cannot use this section.

Common mistakes

  • Applying the section to a stranger who pays without any interest of their own.

Read with: Section 70 Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 68 Indian Contract Act, 1872

Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 69