Modes of Discharge of a Contract

A contract can be discharged in six broad ways:

1. By Performance — the parties actually carry out (or validly tender) their respective promises, exactly as agreed; this is the most natural and common mode of discharge.
2. By Mutual Agreement — the parties themselves agree to end or vary the contract, through novation, rescission, alteration, remission, or waiver (covered in the previous chapter).
3. By Supervening (Subsequent) Impossibility — an event occurring after the contract is made renders its performance impossible or unlawful, discharging the contract under the Doctrine of Frustration (Section 56).
4. By Lapse of Time — the Limitation Act prescribes a period within which a contractual right must be enforced through a court of law; once that period expires, the right to sue is barred (though the underlying debt itself is not extinguished). …