Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla on Monday unveiled a book 'The Principles of Law of Contract' that details the general principles about whether or not formal and informal contracts are legally binding, the authors said.Co-authored by law educators and practitioners Ramesh Chandra Srivastava and Ashutosh Pathak, the book (Bloomsbury/Rs 495/353 pages) also explains the Indian Contract Act, 1872."When you enter into a contract, it may or may not be legally binding. It could be as simple as an employee not performing a task assigned to him/her. But, the question is, is that legally punishable?"The book is a general read for everyone, not just law students, since we all enter into contracts," Srivastava, a retired law professor at Gorakhpur's Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University, told IANS.Pathak, a Supreme Court lawyer, said the book also contains day-to-day examples, making it easier for people outside the legal fraternity to read it.