"Explain the circumstances under which a surety may be discharged by revocation of the contract of guarantee under the Indian Contract Act, 1872."

A surety is said to be discharged when his liability as surety comes to an end. The various modes of discharge of surety are as below: (i) By revocation of the contract of guarantee. (ii) By the conduct of the creditor, or (iii) By the invalidation of the contract of guarantee. By revocation of the Contract of Guarantee (a) Revocation of continuing guarantee by Notice (Section 130 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872): The continuing guarantee may at any time be revoked by the surety as to future transactions by notice to the creditors. Once the guarantee is revoked, the surety is not liable for any future transaction however he is liable for all the transactions that happened before the notice was given. A specific guarantee can be revoked only if liability to principal debtor has not accrued. (b) Revocation of continuing guarantee by surety’s death (Section 131): In the absence of any contract to the contrary, the death of surety operates as a revocation of a continuing guarantee as to the future transactions taking place after the death of surety. However, the surety’s estate remains liable for the past transactions which have already taken place before the death of the surety. (c) By novation [Section 62]: The surety under original contract is discharged if a fresh contract is entered into either between the same parties or between the other parties, the consideration being the mutual discharge of the old contract.