Indian Contract Act, 1872 · Chapter V: Of Certain Relations Resembling Those Created by Contract
Section 71: Responsibility of finder of goods
In plain words
A person who finds goods belonging to someone else and takes them into custody has the same responsibility as a bailee.
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 finds goods belonging to another, and takes them into his custody, is subject to the same responsibility as a bailee1 .
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 71 says a person who finds goods belonging to another and takes them into custody has the same responsibility as a bailee.
Key points
- The finder must take the care required by section 151.
- The finder must make reasonable efforts to find the owner.
- The finder may retain the goods until compensated for expenses and may claim an offered reward (section 168), and may sell in limited cases (section 169).
- The finder's title is good against everyone except the true owner.
Common mistakes
- Treating a finder as the owner, or as having no duties at all.
Read with: Section 168 Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 151 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 71
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.