A contract is an agreement enforceable by law. Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, agreements may be classified according to their legal validity and enforceability. Two important categories are void contracts and voidable contracts. Although both affect the enforceability of an agreement, they differ significantly in their legal nature, causes, rights of the parties, and consequences. A void contract is a contract that ceases to be enforceable by law. Section 2(j) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, provides that a contract which ceases to be enforceable by law becomes void when it ceases to be enforceable. A void agreement, on the other hand, is an agreement that is not enforceable by law from the very beginning. Thus, it is important to distinguish between a void agreement and a void contract. In ordinary business-law discussions, however, the term “void contract” is generally used to describe an arrangement that has no legal enforceability. A voidable contract is defined under Section 2(i) of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. It is a contract which is enforceable by law at the option of one or more of the parties to it, but not at the option of the other party or parties. Therefore, a voidable contract remains legally valid unless and until the party entitled to avoid it chooses to rescind it. The right to avoid the contract generally arises because the consent of one party was not free. The major difference between a void and a voidable contract is their legal enforceability. A void contract is not enforceable by either party. Neither party can normally compel the other to perform the agreement. A voidable contract, however, is enforceable at the option of the aggrieved party. The party whose consent was affected can either affirm the contract or rescind it, depending upon the circumstances. The second distinction concerns the validity of the contract. A void contract has no continuing legal validity once it becomes void. A voidable contract, in contrast, is valid and binding until the aggrieved party exercises the right to cancel it. Consequently, a voidable contract occupies an intermediate position between a valid contract and a void contract. The third difference relates to the option available to the parties. In a void contract, neither party has an option to enforce the contract as a valid contract. In a voidable contract, the aggrieved party has a choice. It may either continue with the contract or terminate it. The other party does not ordinarily possess the same right merely because the contract is voidable. The fourth distinction concerns the causes that produce the two kinds of contracts. A contract may become void because of supervening impossibility, change in law, destruction of the subject matter, or other circumstances that make performance legally or physically impossible. Section 56 of the Indian Contract Act deals with agreements to do impossible acts and contracts that subsequently become impossible or unlawful. Voidability generally arises because of defective or improperly obtained consent. Under Section 19, a contract