Q.An agreement made with a 16-year-old minor to sell his bicycle is:
(A) Voidable at the option of the minor once he attains majority
(B) Void ab initio — void from the very beginning, incapable of ratification
(C) Valid, provided the minor ratifies it upon attaining majority
(D) Illegal and punishable under the Indian Contract Act, 1872

The Privy Council's ruling in Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose (1903) settled that a minor's agreement is void from the start, not merely voidable.

Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose (1903) established that because Section 11 makes competence a condition precedent to a valid contract, and a minor is legally incompetent, an agreement with a minor is void from the very beginning — not merely voidable at the minor's option.

Option-by-option analysis:

• (A) Incorrect — 'voidable' would imply the minor had a genuine agreement they could choose to affirm or reject; the law instead treats it as never having existed.
• (B) Correct — void ab initio, per Mohori Bibee; this is also why the agreement cannot later be ratified. …