Covid-19: Reopen schools, say academics, doctors, lawyers and parents

Over 50 academicians, including professors from IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and Delhi University, doctors,
lawyers and parents from Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka, have written an open letter to CMs of their
respective states, presenting a case to reopen schools.1

2 Bengal extends Covid-19 restrictions till August 15

The restrictions were earlier extended up to July 30 as the Kolkata Metro was allowed to run on weekdays
with 50% capacity
West Bengal on Thursday extended the Covid-19 restrictions until August 15 even as government functions
will be allowed indoors with 50% of seating capacity. The government earlier allowed the Kolkata Metro,
buses, cabs and auto-rickshaws to operate. Local train services will remain suspended while a night curfew
between 9pm and 5am will also continue.2

3 Sentencing Reform

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. In 2015, approximately 2.2 million people
were in adult correctional jails and prisons around the United States. Many thousands of people, particularly
people of color, are cycled in and out of state jails or prisons every day. Extreme sentencing laws and
practices are keeping people in prisons for far longer than ever before. The result is that more people are
spending more of their lives in prison than at any point in U.S. history3

4.Reintegration reform returns to pre-pandemic levels in first half of 2021

This year is proving to be a landmark one for legislation restoring rights and opportunities to people with a
criminal record, extending the remarkable era of “reintegration reform” that began around 2013. Just in the
past six months, 30 states and the District of Columbia have enacted an extraordinary 101 new laws to
mitigate collateral consequences. Six more bills await a governor’s signature. It appears that legislative
momentum in support of facilitating reintegration has returned to the pre-pandemic pace of 20194

5.The concept of the state and government

The concept of State is central in the study of political science which primarily deals with the State and
Government. The term "politics" was first used by Aristotle and he called it "the master science". The word
"politics" is derived from the Greek word polis meaning a city state. To the Greeks the city was the State and
the subject that dealt with the city-state and its problems was designated Politics.5

Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose6

1 Covid-19: Reopen schools, say academics, doctors, lawyers and parents Times of india http://
timeso ndia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/84843133.cms?
utm_source=contento nterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstJul 29, 2021, 03:24 IST
2Bengal extends Covid-19 restrictions till August 15 Hindustantimes https://
www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengal-extends-covid-19-restrictions-till-
august-15-101627541993895.html
3 Sentencing Reform, AM. CIV. LIBERTIES UNION, https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-
reform/ sentencing/sentencing-reform
4COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES RESOURCE CTR.,

http://ccresourcecenter.org
5 POLITICAL THEORY AND ORGANISATION (L.S Rathore&S.A.H Haqqi 2019).
6Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose [1903] 30 Cal. 539
fi

fi

Mohori Bibee v. Dharmodas Ghose is an Indian case of Contract Law, which deals with the issue of contract
with a minor. Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, says that a contract is valid only if it is entered
into by the parties competent to contract. As per Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, a minor is not
competent to contract. A minor is a person who has not completed the age of majority or is below the age of
18 years. A contract with a minor is deemed to be void ab-initio. The reason behind such rule is that a minor
is not considered mature enough to understand the provisions of a contract.
This case provides that a contract with a minor person is void ab-initio. It was also held by the Privy Council
that minors should be provided certain protections when they enter into a contract with a major person.