Indian Contract Act Section 148 — “Bailment”“bailor” and “bailee” defined
CHAPTER IX OF BAILMENT
Commercial / Corporate
Summary
A bailment is the delivery of goods by one person to another for a specific purpose, under a contract that the goods will be returned or disposed of according to the deliverer's instructions once that purpose is complete. The person who delivers the goods is called the bailor, and the person who receives them is called the bailee.
The explanation clarifies that if a person already has possession of someone else's goods and then agrees to hold them as a bailee, that person becomes the bailee and the owner becomes the bailor from that point on, even if the goods were not originally handed over as part of a bailment arrangement.
Official Text
A “bailment” is the delivery of goods by one person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that they shall, when the purpose is accomplished, be returned or otherwise disposed of according to the directions of the person delivering them. The person delivering the goods is called the “bailor”. The person to whom they are delivered is called, the “bailee”.
Explanation.—If a person already in possession of the goods of another contracts to hold them as a bailee, he thereby becomes the bailee, and the owner becomes the bailor of such goods, although they may not have been delivered by way of bailment.