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why the following code is returning the output even if I am not returning the output of variable a to the previous function.

int fact(int n) { int a; if (n <= 1) return 1; else a = n*fact(n-1); } int main() { int c=fact(5); printf("%d",c); }
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    Welcome to the wonderful world of undefined behavior. In short, if you declare a function to return a value, you must return a value, anything else is wrong. Commented Jul 24, 2018 at 5:32

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Quoting C11, chapter §6.9.1

If the } that terminates a function is reached, and the value of the function call is used by the caller, the behavior is undefined.

So, your program exhibits undefined behavior.

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