A agrees to sell to B 100 bags of sugar arriving on a ship from Australia to India within next two months. Unknown to the parties, the ship has already sunk. Does B have any right against A under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930?

In this case, B, the buyer has no right against A the seller. Section 8 of the Sales of Goods Act, 1930 provides that where there is an agreement to sell specific goods and the goods without any fault of either party perish, damaged or lost, the agreement is thereby avoided. This provision is based on the ground of supervening impossibility of performance which makes a contract void. So, all the following conditions required to treat it as a void contract are fulfilled in the above case: (i) There is an agreement to sell between A and B (ii) It is related to specific goods (iii) The goods are lost because of the sinking of ship before the property or risk passes to the buyer. (iv) The loss of goods is not due to the fault of either party.