Khwaja Muhammad Khan v. Husaini Begum

Facts

• The defendant, as part of a family marriage arrangement, agreed to pay a specific maintenance allowance to his son's wife, charged against specific immovable property
• The wife was not a party to this specific agreement between her father-in-law and her husband's family
• She sought to enforce this maintenance provision when payment was not made
• The defendant argued she could not sue, being a stranger to the contract

Issue

1. Whether a person who is not a party to a contract can enforce a specific provision of that contract made expressly for their benefit, particularly where a specific charge on property secures this benefit.

Held

• Where a contract creates a specific charge or trust in favour of a third party, and that third party is a natural object of the promisor's bounty (such as a family member the arrangement was specifically designed to benefit), the third party may enforce this specific provision
• This constitutes a recognised exception to the general privity rule
• The wife could enforce the maintenance charge despite not being a party to the underlying agreement

Ratio Decidendi

The privity rule admits an exception where a contract creates a specific trust or charge in favour of a third party who is a natural object of the promisor's bounty, permitting that third party to enforce the specific provision made for their benefit, even without being a party to the contract itself.