Bapan 22 January 2017

Does an agreement need to be signed on all pages ?

My parents had, earlier last year, given out our groundfloor on 11 month's leave and licence to an individual. While the document was signed by both the parites, togther with 2 witnesses, and notirized, it was not signed on all pages.

The agreement consists of 3 pages. 1st page is of course the stamp paper and then two dammy pages. It is singed on the last page, together with 2 witnesses, however the 1st and 2nd pages are not signed.

Is the agreement still valid ?

Can the licencee challenge the agreement, if we ever go to court (God forbid) ?

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Dr. Atul [9013898936] (Lawyer, Scholar) 22 January 2017

Oh yes,the Agreement is very much valid so far as the signatures are concerned. Signature on all pages is advisable for an additional level of authenticity to all pages/all terms, but it is definitely not a essential requirement. It helps when unscrupulous parties try to wriggle out of agreements alleging that pages in agreement had been replaced or that they had not read all the terms and conditions, but it usually does not carry them far.

Great Offshore Ltd vs Iranian Offshore Eng. & Constn., Supreme Court, 2008 (12) SCR 515, Indiankanoon.org Link

"The respondent makes much of the fact that ... one of the parties did not sign every page .

nothing in Section 7 [Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996] suggests that the parties must sign every page. Once again, if I take the respondent's argument to its logical conclusion, I would have no choice but to read language into the Act that is not there. ... it need only be "signed by the parties" ...

Every page does not need to be signed."

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