Advika Adgaonkar, Amity Law School, Mumbai
Introduction
An agency arises when one person, known as the agent has the authority to perform or act on behalf of another who is known as the principal and has consented to that act. An agent is defined in The Indian Contract Act, 1872 in section 182 as a person who represents or is employed to do an act for another while dealing with third persons.
A principal is defined in The Indian Contract Act, 1872 in section 182 as the person on whose behalf acts are done by another representing him while dealing with third persons. When a person acts on behalf of another without his/her consent or knowledge, then the doctrine of ratification comes into play. The doctrine provides an option to either disown the act or adopt it by ratification to the person on whose behalf the act is done. Ratification is a kind of declaration of unauthorized acts.
