- Supreme Court imposed a ban on class 8 NCERT book chapter on judicial corruption
- Court ordered seizure of all physical and digital copies of the disputed book chapter
- Show cause notices issued to NCERT director and school education secretary
The Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a blanket ban on class 8 NCERT book carrying a chapter on corruption in the judiciary, and ordered a seizure of all physical copies, along with takedown of its digital forms. The apex court ordered that the Centre and state authorities comply with its directions immediately, and warned of "serious action" if directions are defied in any form.
Nearly 32 books have entered the market which are now being withdrawn. The top court also issued show cause notices to NCERT director, school education secretary to explain why action should be not taken against those responsible. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said there seemed to be a calculated move to undermine institution and demean dignity of judiciary.
Suo Moto Case against NCERT
The bench said such misconduct, having everlasting impact on judiciary, would fall within definition of criminal contempt. "We would like to have a deeper probe," the bench said. The court said that if allowed to go unchecked, this will erode people's faith in judiciary as it grilled Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, arguing for the NCERT. "No one will be allowed to go scot-free." The CJI said, "It is my duty as the head of the institution to find out who is responsible; heads must roll."
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, the Supreme Court took note of a suomotu case concerning a "selective mention" in the textbook created by NCERT, addressing the issue of "corruption" within the judicial system. A three-judge panel comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi reviewed the matter entitled 'In Social Science Textbook for Grade-8 (Part 2) published by NCERT and related matters'
The updated Social Science textbook for Class 8, launched by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Monday, features a segment on "judicial corruption" as part of a chapter titled "The judiciary's role within our society." This chapter outlines "corruption across various tiers of the judiciary and an extensive backlog...due to numerous factors, such as insufficient judges, complex legal processes, and inadequate infrastructure" among "obstacles" encountered by the judicial framework.
CJI Surya Kant said there appears to be a deep-rooted, well planned conspiracy to defame the judiciary. Taking exception to the NCERT's Wednesday communication, the SC said there was not a single word of apology in it, and instead, they have tried to justified it. At the outset, Solicitor General Mehta tendered an unconditional and unqualified apology on behalf of the Ministry of education. The bench posted the mater for further hearing on March 11.
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