Q.Which of the following is NOT an essential element of a valid contract under Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872?
(A) Free consent of the parties
(B) Lawful consideration
(C) Registration of the agreement with the Sub-Registrar
(D) Capacity of the parties to contract

Section 10 lists exactly what makes an agreement a contract: free consent, competent parties, lawful consideration, and a lawful object, none of which mentions a general registration requirement.

Work through each option against the rule stated above; registration is a formality the LAW requires only for SPECIFIC kinds of transactions (such as a gift or sale of immovable property under separate statutes), not a general essential of every valid contract under Section 10.

Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 states that all agreements are contracts if made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not expressly declared void by the Act.

Option-by-option analysis:

• (A) Free consent — a genuine essential, expressly named in Section 10.
• (B) Lawful consideration — a genuine essential, expressly named in Section 10.
• (C) Registration with the Sub-Registrar — NOT a general essential of a valid contract; registration is required only for specific categories of transactions under separate statutes (e.g. the Registration Act, 1908, for certain transfers of immovable property), not for contracts generally. As a general rule, an Indian contract does not even need to be in writing to be valid.
• (D) Capacity of the parties — a genuine essential, expressly named in Section 10.