Mr. D was in urgent need of money amounting to ` 5,00,000. He asked Mr. K for the money. Mr. K lent the money on the sureties of A, B and N without any contract between them in case of default in repayment of money by D to K. D makes default in payment. B refused to contribute, examine whether B can escape liability?

Co-sureties liable to contribute equally (Section 146 of the Indian Contract act, 1872): Equality of burden is the basis of Co-suretyship. This is contained in section 146 which states that “when two or more persons are co-sureties for the same debt, or duty, either jointly, or severally and whether under the same or different contracts and whether with or without the knowledge of each other, the co-sureties in the absence of any contract to the contrary, are liable, as between themselves, to pay each an equal share of the whole debt, or of that part of it which remains unpaid by the principal debtor”. Accordingly, on the default of D in payment, B cannot escape from his liability. All the three sureties A, B and N are liable to pay equally, in absence of any contract between them.