Definition
Person who has not attained the age of majority.
A person below 18 years of age who lacks full legal capacity to enter contracts, vote, or make certain legal decisions.
Statutory Definition
Indian Majority Act, 1875, Section 3; Indian Contract Act, 1872, Section 11.
Etymology & Origin
From Latin 'minor' (lesser, smaller — comparative of 'parvus', small). In Roman law, 'minor' denoted a person who was 'lesser' in legal capacity than an adult — not lesser in moral or human terms, but in terms of legal ability to act independently. The same root gives 'minority' (the state of being minor) and 'majority' (the state of being an adult — literally 'the greater state').
Full Legal Analysis
A minor is a person who has not attained the age of majority under the applicable law. Section 3 of the Indian Majority Act, 1875 provides that every person domiciled in India shall be deemed to have attained majority when they reach the age of 18 years. Exception: when a court has appointed a guardian of the person or property of a minor, majority is not attained until the age of 21 years. The age of majority for most legal purposes in India is thus 18 years. Special laws may fix a different age for specific purposes — for example, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 defines 'child' as a person below 18 years for child protection purposes.
A minor's legal capacity is severely restricted: (1) Contracts — Section 11 ICA: a minor lacks contractual capacity; a contract entered into by or with a minor is void ab initio (void from the beginning) — not merely voidable. The foundational case is Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghosh (1903 PC): a minor mortgaged his property; the Privy Council held the mortgage void and unenforceable against the minor. No restitution is required from the minor because a void contract creates no obligations. However, a minor can receive benefits under a contract — a contract in a minor's favour is enforceable by the minor.
A minor mortgaged his property to a money-lender who knew the mortgagor was a minor. The money-lender advanced money on the mortgage and then sued to enforce it. The Privy Council held the mortgage void ab initio — a contract with a minor is void, not voidable. Since the contract is void, the money-lender could not enforce it nor compel the minor to repay the money advanced. The money advanced was considered a gift in law — no restitution could be claimed from the minor. The rule that a minor's contract is void (not voidable) is the foundational principle of Indian contract law regarding minors.
Quasi-contract obligations of minors: although a minor cannot be bound by a contract, a minor may be liable on a quasi-contractual basis for necessaries supplied to them (Section 68 ICA) — but the liability is limited to the value of the necessaries, recoverable from the minor's property (not personally). 'Necessaries' means things reasonably necessary for the minor's maintenance and education at their station in life — not luxuries. A person who supplies necessaries to a minor knowing the person to be a minor is entitled to recover their value from the minor's property.
For advocates, the law of minors is relevant in: (1) contract disputes where one party is or was a minor at the time of contracting — establishing the void ab initio nature of the contract; (2) property transactions involving minors — transfers by or to minors require court sanction; (3) litigation — a minor must sue and be sued through a next friend (Order 32 CPC); (4) criminal law — a person below 18 is a 'child' under the JJ Act and subject to the JJ Act's special procedure; and (5) succession — a minor's interests in an estate must be represented by a guardian or next friend in legal proceedings.
This Term in Indian Statutes
Indian Contract Act, 1872, 1872
"Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject, and who is of sound mind, and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject."
Mohori Bibee: minor's contract void ab initio (not voidable); no restitution from minor; Section 68 quasi-contract for necessaries; majority 18 years, 21 where guardian appointed; minor sues through next friend Order 32 CPC
