Section 52

Section 52 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, states: 'When a contract has been broken, the party who suffers by the breach is entitled to receive compensation for any loss or damage caused to him thereby, which naturally arose in the usual course of things from the breach, or which the parties knew when they made the contract to be likely to result from the breach of it. But in estimating the loss or damage arising from a breach of contract, the means which existed of remedying the inconvenience caused by the non-performance of the contract must be taken into account.' This section highlights the importance of considering the means available to mitigate the loss or damage caused by a breach of contract. The courts have held that the party claiming compensation must take reasonable steps to minimize the loss. In the case of Bhagwan Das vs. Gulshan Rai, the court observed that the plaintiff must act reasonably to mitigate the damages and cannot claim compensation for losses that could have been avoided by taking reasonable steps.