Indian Bank v. Acuity Stock Brokers (Pvt) Limited – SC APPEAL NO.11/2001-2011

In the case between Indian Bank (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Acuity Stock Brokers (Pvt) Limited (Defendant-Respondent), the court addressed whether an undertaking given in a letter dated 21 January 1994 constituted a legally enforceable contract and the relevance of Roman Dutch Law versus English Law concerning consideration in banking transactions. It was held that the document in question did establish a binding obligation since Roman Dutch Law allows an obligation to be enforceable based on “justa causa” rather than the strict requirement of consideration found in English Law. This principle was reinforced by references to precedent and a substantive analysis of the circumstances of the transaction. The court reversed the Commercial High Court’s earlier dismissal, which had relied on Engli