Responsibility of finder of goods (Sec. 71). Section 71 lays down another circumstance in which also a quasi-contractual obligation is to be presumed. It says: “A person.. who finds goods belonging to another and takes them into his custody, is subject to the same responsibility as a bailee. Thus law between the owner and finder of the goods also implies an agreement and the latter is deemed to be a bailee.
Duties of finder of goods. He must try to find ‘out the real ,’owner of the goods and must not appropriate the property to his own use. If the real owner is traced, he must restore the goods to him on demand. If he does not take these measures, he will be guilty of criminal misappropriation of the property under Section 403 of Indian Penal Code. Further, till the goods are in possession of the finder, he must take as much care of the goods as a man of ordinary prudence would, under similar circumstances, take of his own goods of the same bulk, quality and value (Sec. 151).
The rights of a finder of goods have been discussed in Sections 168-.169 which provide as follows:
Rights of finder of goods. Till the true owner is found out, he can retain possession of the goods against everybody in the world. He is entitled to receive from the true owner, all expenses incurred by him for preserving the goods or finding the true owner. He has a lien on the goods for the money so spent i.e., he can refuse to redeem the goods to the true owner until these moneys are paid. He is not entitled to file a suit for the recovery of such sums. But he can file a suit against the owner to recover any reward, which was offered by the owner for the return of the goods, provided he came to know of the offer of reward before actually finding out the goods.
Duties of finder of goods. He must try to find ‘out the real ,’owner of the goods and must not appropriate the property to his own use. If the real owner is traced, he must restore the goods to him on demand. If he does not take these measures, he will be guilty of criminal misappropriation of the property under Section 403 of Indian Penal Code. Further, till the goods are in possession of the finder, he must take as much care of the goods as a man of ordinary prudence would, under similar circumstances, take of his own goods of the same bulk, quality and value (Sec. 151).
The rights of a finder of goods have been discussed in Sections 168-.169 which provide as follows:
Rights of finder of goods. Till the true owner is found out, he can retain possession of the goods against everybody in the world. He is entitled to receive from the true owner, all expenses incurred by him for preserving the goods or finding the true owner. He has a lien on the goods for the money so spent i.e., he can refuse to redeem the goods to the true owner until these moneys are paid. He is not entitled to file a suit for the recovery of such sums. But he can file a suit against the owner to recover any reward, which was offered by the owner for the return of the goods, provided he came to know of the offer of reward before actually finding out the goods.
The finder of goods is entitled to sell the goods if the owner cannot be found out or if he refuses to pay the lawful charges of the finder, in the following two situations only:
(a) When the thing is in danger of perishing or of losing the greater part of its value, or
(b) When the lawful charges of the finder amount to two-thirds of the value of the goods found. The true owner is entitled to get the balance of sale proceeds, if there is surplus after meeting the lawful charges.
Rights and duties of finder of lost goods
![Rights and duties of finder of lost goods]()
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