Q.What is meant by 'Destruction of Goods' under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930?

The Act treats the destruction of specific goods differently depending on whether it happens BEFORE the contract is made or AFTER an agreement to sell but before risk passes.

'Destruction of goods' refers to the two situations the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 specifically addresses when specific goods forming the subject matter of a contract cease to exist or are seriously damaged:

1. Section 7 — perishing before the contract is made: where there is a contract for the sale of specific goods, and those goods, WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE of the seller, have already perished, or been damaged so badly that they no longer answer their description in the contract, at the time the contract itself is made, the contract is VOID. (This reflects the general contract-law principle that a contract requires a genuinely existing subject matter.) …

A common confusion is applying Section 7 (which is about a state of affairs already existing when the contract is signed) to a situation where the goods perish AFTER the contract — that later situation is governed by Section 8, and only applies to an agreemen …