Anil threatens to file a false criminal complaint against his neighbour Beena unless she executes a sale deed of her land in his favour. Beena, fearing arrest, signs the document. Under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the consent so obtained is vitiated by:

Section 15 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines coercion as the committing, or threatening to commit, any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code, or the unlawful detaining, or threatening to detain, any property, with the intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement. A threat to file a false criminal case is a threat to commit an act forbidden by the penal law, namely the making of a false charge, and therefore amounts to coercion, making the agreement voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused under section 19. Fraud under section 17 involves deception, undue influence under section 16 requires abuse of a dominating position, misrepresentation under section 18 is a wrong statement of facts, and mistake concerns error as to fact or law.