Sign by witness in an agreement

The Indian Contract Act does not require contracts to be witnessed. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, contracts for the sale of land must be attested by at least two witnesses. Additionally, contracts that are made by minors or people who are mentally incapacitated must also be attested by witnesses.

However, some people may insist to get the contract/ agreement witnessed (like in your case) as witnesses can be useful in proving the existence of a contract if there is a dispute later on. It is not necessary to have a dealership agreement witnessed, but it is often a good idea to do so.If there is ever a dispute, the other party may argue that the agreement is not valid because it was not witnessed. Having a witness can help to avoid this problem.

Hope this Heps.

Hi Abhijeet, I'm Adv Niharika and here is my take on your query.

The law of Contracts does not mandate that an agreement be witnessed by any person, unlike the case in wills, sale deed, etc.

However, to get an agreement witnessed is a preventive step and will do you no harm.

So I'd advise you to not get worried of something which doesn't require it.

If you have further questions, you can reach me at niharikalohan@yahoo.com

The experts opined properly, I endorse it and would like to inform that there's no legal infirmity in getting it witnessed, in fact it may protect your interests.

Thanks

to all the fellow experts for sharing their views. In  fact all of you made the issue very  cristal clear.

My sincere thanks to all of you.

Regards

Abhijit

Thank you for your appreciation. 

Here is an enlightenment on this legal query.

Indian Contract Act, 1872 clearly states that it does not affect any law in force in India according to which a contract is required to be:

1. In writing
2. Attested
3. Registered

Indian Contract Act is not an exhaustive law relating to contract but it is also contained in other laws like Specific Relief Act, Transfer of Property Act, Registration act, etc 

Therefore, It is Mandated or required by Indian Contract Act to [In writing, Attested, Registered] if it is required by any other law and not expressly repealed or inconsistent with provisions of ICA, otherwise the contract cannot be used for the purpose (like for proving the contract) which are mentioned in any law, respectively.

• In your case i.e. dealership agreement, It is not mandated or required by any law ( substituting by words: Law of contracts) to be attested.

So, if it is not required by law to be attested then as per section 67 of Indian Evidence act i.e. It can be proved by proving signature of the person by whom it is allege to have been signed. {no role of any witness}

And even if it was attested then again as per section 72 of the Indian Evidence Act, “An attested document not required by law to be attested may be proved as if it was unattested.” {again no role of witness}

Talking about the role of a witness or even, lets say about the stranger (Even if contract is not required by law to be attested) then deep knowledge of Section 92 of Indian Evidence Act is required and thorough study of Case law: Parvinder Sing V. Renu Gautam (2004) 4 SCC 794

Enjoy your one year dealership agreement !