Meaning of Bailment

Bailment is a process where the owner of certain goods places them in the temporary possession
of another person. In simple terms, bailment means that a person delivers his goods to another
person or put them in another’s possession for a specific purpose and there is an express or implied
understanding between the two people that once the purpose has been achieved, the goods will be
returned to the owner – the person who bailed them.
‘Bailment’ is derived from a French word ‘bailer’ which means ‘to deliver’.
But in law it refers to the contract which results from delivery of goods. In contract of bailment
only possession is passed on not the ownership. There cannot be bailment of immovable property.
There are many instances of bailment in our daily lives – when we give our clothes for laundry,
when we use valet parking for our cars. We deliver our goods to another person or leave them in
the power of another person for a purpose and expect to receive our goods back when the purpose
has been achieved.
For example, a man visits a repair shop for getting his television set fixed. The television set is left
at the shop where the repair man examines it and fixes the problem. Once fixed, the television set
has to be returned to its owner. There is a contract of bailment between the man and the repair-
man.
Section 148 of the Contract Act 1872 states that “A bailment is the delivery of goods by one
person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that they shall, when the purpose is
accomplished, be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the person
delivering them.
The person who owns and delivers the goods is called the ‘bailor’. The person to whom the goods
are delivered is called the ‘bailee’.
Example: A man drops off his clothes for dry cleaning. He is the bailor and the purpose of bailment
is to have the particular set of clothes cleaned. The dry cleaner is the bailee – he is the temporary
custodian of the clothes and is responsible for keeping them safe and to return them to the bailor
once they have been cleaned.
Halsbury defines Bailment as ‘delivery of personal chattels in trust on a contract, express or
implied, that the trust shall be duly executed and chattels redelivered in either their original or
altered form, as soon as the time of use, or condition on which they had been bailed has elapsed or
been performed respectively’. Justice Blackstone defines Bailment as ‘a delivery of goods in trust,
upon contract, either expressed or implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed on the part of
the bailee’.
Bailment can also be described as ‘the delivery of goods to another person for a particular use’.
4. Examples:
- X delivers a piece of cloth to Y, a tailor, to be stitched into a suit. It is contract of bailment.
- Something left with a friend inadvertently.
 - When a person find lost goods – implied contract of bailment.
NATURE OF BAILMENT
Bailment is a type of special contract and thus, all basic requirements of contract like consent of
parties, competency, etc. are applicable to any contract of Bailment. A bailment is usually created
by an agreement between the bailor and bailee. Section 148 specifically talks of bailment via a
contract. But a valid bailment can also arise in absence of express contracts or from invalid or
voidable contracts.
In bailment, neither the property nor the ownership of the goods involved is transferred at any
point. Only the temporary possession of the bailed goods is transferred and the ownership of such
goods remains with the bailor. The bailor can demand to have the property returned to him at any
time.
WHAT MAY BE BAILED
Only ‘goods’ can be bailed and thus, only movable goods can be the subject matter of bailment.
Current money or legal tender cannot be bailed. Deposition of money in a bank is not bailment as
money is not ‘goods’ and the same money is not returned to the client. But the coins and notes that
are no longer legal tender and are more or less just objects of curiosity, then they can be bailed.

ESSENTIAL FEATURES
Section 148 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 makes it very clear that there are three essential
features of Bailment, namely:
1) Delivery of Possession
2) Delivery upon Contract
3) Delivery for a purpose and Return of Goods
1) Delivery of Possession: The delivery of possession of goods is essential for bailment. There
must be transfer of possession of the bailed goods from bailor to bailee and the goods must be
handed over to the bailee for whatever is the purpose of bailment. Here, possession means control
over goods and an intention to exclude others from exercising similar control over the same goods.
Thus, the bailee must have actual physical control of the property with the intent to possess it for
a valid bailment.
As per Section 149, the delivery can also be made to the bailee by doing anything which has the
effect of putting the bailed goods in the possession of the intended bailee or any person authorized
by him for this purpose.
Thus, the delivery of possession can be actual or constructive. The delivery may either put the
bailee in the actual physical possession of the goods or put the bailee in a position of power over
such goods that may be possessed later. The essential of a bailment is the delivery of goods for a
temporary purpose.
Mere custody of goods is not the same as delivery of possession. A guest who uses the goods of
the host during a party is not a bailee. Similarly, it was held in Reaves vs. Capper [1838 5 Bing
NC 136] that a servant in custody of certain goods by the nature of his job is not a bailee. Similarly,
a servant holding his master’s umbrella is not a bailee but is a custodian.
Similarly, hiring and storing goods in a bank locker by itself is not bailment thought there is
delivery of goods to the bank premises. The goods are in no way entrusted to the bank. A bank
cannot be presumed to know what goods are stored in any given locker at all the times. If a bank
is given actual and exclusive possession of the property inside a locker by the person who hired
the locker, only then can bailment under Section 148 can be presumed.
In Atul Mehra vs. Bank of Maharashtra [AIR 2003 P&H 11], it was held that mere hiring of a
bank’s locker and storing things in it would not constitute a bailment. But the position changes
completely if the locker in the safe deposit vault of the bank can be operated even without the key
of the customer.
Example: A hired a locker in a bank and kept some of his valuables in it. He was given one key to
open the locker. But the bank manager of the particular branch had fraudulently filed the levers of
the locks of the lockers. Thus, the lockers could be opened even without the key of the customers.
A’s valuables went missing. A’s control over the valuables in that locker had gone because the
locker could be operated even without A’s key. The bank was liable for the loss of A’s belongings
from the locker as it became a bailee. This example is similar to the case of National Bank of
Lahore vs. Sohan Lal [AIR 1962 Punj. 534]
Thus, it is clear that the nature of possession is very important to determine whether a delivery is
for bailment or not. If the owner continues to have control over the goods, there can be no bailment.
To create a bailment, the bailee must intend to possess and in some way physically possess or
control the bailed goods or property. In a situation where a person keeps the goods in possession
of another person but in fact, continues to have control over such goods, there is no delivery for
the purpose of bailment.
The delivery of possession does not mean that the bailee now represents the bailor with respected
to the bailed goods. The bailee only has certain power over the property of the bailor with his
permission. The bailee has no power to make contracts on behalf of the bailor or make the bailor
liable for his own acts with the goods bailed.
Example: If a person delivers his damaged car to a garage for repair under his insurance policy,
the insurance company becomes a bailee and the garage a sub-bailee. If the car is stolen from the
garage or destroyed by fire in the garage, both – the insurance company and the garage will be
liable to the owner of the car, the bailor.
Delivery of possession, as required for bailment, can be made in two ways – Actual or
Constructive.
1. a) Actual Delivery: Here, the bailor hands over the physical possession of the goods to the
bailee.
Example: A’s watch is broken. When he leaves his watch at the showroom for repair, he has given
actual delivery of possession of goods to the showroom.
1. b) Constructive Delivery: Constructive delivery is an action that the law treats as the
equivalent of actual delivery. It can be difficult to deliver intangible
In constructive delivery, the physical possession of the goods may not be handed over. The
possession of the goods may remain with the bailor with the consent or authorization of the bailee.
In constructive delivery, an action on part of the bailor merely puts the bailee in position of power
with respect to the bailed goods. The bailor gives the bailee the means of access to taking custody
of it, without its actual delivery.
Example: A has rare coins in a locked safe-deposit box. Delivery of a safe deposit box is not
possible. When he hands over the keys to the box to B, it is taken as constructive delivery for
purpose of bailment.
Section 149 specifically deals with constructive delivery of goods. It states that anything done
which has the effect of putting the goods in the possession of the intended bailee or any other
person authorized to hold them on his behalf is to be treated as constructive delivery of the goods.
Constructive delivery is legal fiction – thus, a legal delivery is presumed even where the delivery
of the actual goods has not taken place. Even the delivery of a railway receipt is taken as the
equivalent of delivery of the goods.
In Bank of Chittor vs. Narsimbulu [AIR 1966 AP 163], a person pledged cinema projector with
the bank but the bank allowed him to keep the projector so as to keep the cinema hall functional.
It was held that there was constructive delivery because action on part of the bailor had changed
the legal character of the possession of the projector. Even though the actual and physical
possession was with the person, the legal possession was with the bank, the bailee.
2) Delivery upon Contract: It is necessary that the goods are delivered to the bailee and returned
to the bailor when the purpose is accomplished upon a contract. This means there should a contract
between the two parties for such transaction of delivery and subsequent return. If there is no
contract, there is no bailment. The contract giving rise to bailment can be express or implied.
Property deposited in a court under orders is not property delivered under a contract. Such delivery
or transfer does not constitute bailment.
Exception to the delivery upon contract: A finder of goods is treated as a bailee even if there is
no contract of Bailment or delivery of goods under a contract. A finder of the goods is a person
who finds the goods belonging to some other person and keeps them under his protection till the
actual owner of the goods is found. An involuntary contract of bailment arises and the finder
automatically becomes bailee even in absence of bailment by the bailor – the owner of the lost
goods. Since the person is in the position of the bailee, he has all the rights and duties of a bailee.
Under English Law: There can be bailment without a contract. If a person deposits or delivers
the goods under stressful circumstance like fire flood, riots or if the person who is depositing the
goods is incapable of appreciating the value of the action, it is still regarded as bailment despite
the absence of a contract. Delivery of goods to another under a mistake of identity of the person is
also treated as bailment without a contract as long as the bailor took reasonable care to ascertain
the identity.
Present Position in India: The Law Commission of India in its 13th report suggested that bailment
without contract should also be included in the Indian Contract Act, 1872 but no concrete steps
have been taken as yet. Presently, the Indian Courts have taken the position that bailment can exist
without a contract. In some of these cases, even the government has been held liable as a bailor
despite the absence of a contract.

The case of Lasalgoan Merchants Bank vs. Prabhudas Hathibhai is one the first where the
Courts started imposing the obligations of a bailee even without a contract. In State of Gujarat vs.
Memom Mahomed, the Supreme Court of India accepted this view and stated that “…Bailment is
dealt with by the Contract Act only in cases where it arises from a contract, but it is not correct to
say that there cannot be bailment without an enforceable contract.”
3) Delivery for a purpose and Return of Goods: There has to be a purpose for the bailment of
goods and it is mandatory that once such purpose is accomplishes, the goods have to be returned
to the bailor or be disposed off per his instructions. Bailment cannot arise if the goods are not to
be specially accounted for after completion of such task or purpose. This is a feature of bailment
that distinguishes it from other relations like agency, etc.
The third essential of bailment is twofold –
1. a) The delivery of goods must be for some specific task or performance. Delivery of goods
in bailment is not permanent. There has to be a purpose for the bailment of goods and it is
mandatory that once such purpose is accomplishes, the goods have to be returned to the
bailor or be disposed off per his instructions. A tailor is given a cloth for stitching a shirt,
a watch repair shop is given a watch to mend it.
1. b) That the goods must be returned to the bailor or be taken care of as per the instructions
of the bailor. If a person is not bound to return the goods to another, then the relationship
between them is not of bailment. If there is an agreement to return the equivalent and not
the same goods, it is not bailment. An agent who collects money on behalf of his principal
is not a bailee because he is not liable to return the same money and coins.
Example: A tailor who receives a cloth for stitching is the bailee in this case. The tailor is supposed
to return the finished garment to the customer, the bailor, once the garment has been stitched.
 1. c) Return of goods in specie is also essential. The same goods that were bailed must be
returned to the bailor in the same condition after the accomplishment of purpose as they
were handed over to the bailee in the beginning. Any accruals to the goods must also be
handed over. If an animal gives birth during the period of bailment, the bailee must return
the animal with the offspring at the conclusion of the bailment.
The bailor can give other directions as to the disposal or return of the bailed goods. In case of such
agreement or instructions, the bailee must immediately dispose the goods after completion of
purpose as per the directions.
If the goods are not returned or dealt as per the directions of the bailor there is no bailment. For
example, depositing money into bank by a customer does not give rise to a contract of bailment
because the bank is not bound to return the same notes and coins to the customer. This same point
was also made in the case of Ichcha Dhanji vs.Natha [1888 13 Bom 338]
In Secy of State vs. Sheo Singh Rai [1880 ILR 2 All 756], a man delivered nine government
promissory notes to the Treasury Officer at Meerut for cancellation and consolidation into a single
note of Rupees 48,000 only. The notes were misappropriated by the servants of the Treasury
Officer. The man sued the State to hold it responsible as a bailee. But the action failed as there can
be no bailment without delivery of goods and a promise to the return the same. The government
was in no way bound to return the same notes or dispose the surrendered notes in accordance with
the instructions of the man.

 KINDS OF BAILMENT:
o On the basis of benefit –
 1. Exclusive for the benefit of bailor.
 2. Exclusive for the benefit of bailee.
 3. Mutual benefit for both bailor and bailee
o On the basis of Reward –
 1. Gratuitous Bailment – Goods are delivered by the bailor to the bailee
without any reward. Lending a book to a friend for reading. (Exclusive
benefit of either of the party)
 2. Non – Gratuitous bailment – Where bailor & bailee is entitled to reward
for bailment. Example: A car let out for hire, Gold given to goldsmith for
making jewellery for charges.