What happens if your purchased item is stolen from the exhibition venue before you take it home?

The risk of loss framework — SGA §20

Section 20 of the Sale of Goods Act 1930 provides: 'Where there is an unconditional contract for the sale of specific goods in a deliverable state, the property in the goods passes to the buyer when the contract is made, and it is immaterial whether the time of payment or the time of delivery, or both, be postponed.' For a specific identified numismatic note — the exact note you agreed to buy at ₹8,000 — the property passes when the unconditional contract is made, regardless of whether you have physically taken possession.

Applied to an exhibition purchase: if you agreed to buy a specific note, paid in full, and the seller set the note aside in a bag for you while you went to get your car — the property in that note has passed to you. A theft of that note from the stall is a theft of your property. You can file a FIR as the owner of the stolen note; the thief has stolen from you, not from the dealer.

The deposit scenario — risk remains with dealer

If you paid a ₹1,000 deposit on a ₹10,000 note and agreed to pay the balance and collect the next day, the property position is less clear. The contract is formed — both parties are bound — but whether property has passed depends on the specific circumstances. Where the balance is still due and the note was not specifically appropriated and set aside as exclusively the buyer's, the dealer may still bear the risk of theft during the period before full payment and delivery.

In practice: if the note is stolen while in the dealer's custody and before you have paid and taken possession, the loss falls on the dealer. You are entitled to the return of your deposit — the dealer cannot retain payment for a note they can no longer deliver. You are not entitled to demand a different note of equivalent value unless the contract specifically provides for substitution.

Exhibition venue liability — the negligence question

If the theft occurred because the exhibition venue's security was negligent — inadequate security staffing, poor access controls, known security risks not addressed — the venue operator may have liability in negligence for the loss. This applies whether the loss falls on the dealer or on the buyer who had already become the owner. The venue's duty of care to exhibitors and buyers extends to providing reasonable security for the event.

Laws & authorities referenced in this chapter

Sale of Goods Act 1930 — §20 (risk of loss; property passes in specific goods when contract made)

Sale of Goods Act 1930 — §18 (property passes when parties intend it to pass; depends on contract terms)

Indian Contract Act 1872 — §73 (dealer liable to refund deposit if unable to deliver due to theft)

Law of torts — negligence; venue operator's duty of care in providing reasonable security