SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of NCERT’s Class 8 Textbook Over ‘Corruption In Judiciary’ Mention
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has registered a suo motu (on its own motion) case over references to “corruption in the judiciary” in a newly introduced Class 8 Social Science textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
As per the causelist uploaded on the website of the apex court, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi is slated to consider on February 26 the matter titled “In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade–8 (Part-2) published by NCERT and ancillary issues”.
The apex court has initiated the proceedings on its own motion following concerns expressed over certain portions of the revised textbook dealing with the functioning of the judiciary.
The development comes a day after CJI Surya Kant expressed strong displeasure over references to corruption within the judiciary appearing in the revised textbook.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi had flagged concerns regarding the inclusion of references to “corruption in the judiciary” in a chapter titled ‘The role of the judiciary in our society’.
Sibal had submitted that members of the legal fraternity were “deeply disturbed” that schoolchildren were being taught about corruption in the judiciary, describing the inclusion as “entirely scandalous”.
Responding to the concerns, the CJI had remarked that he was fully aware of the controversy and had received communications from members of the judiciary expressing similar apprehensions.
“This is definitely concerning the entire institution. The Bar and the Bench are perturbed. Every stakeholder in the system is really disturbed,” CJI Kant had observed, adding that he would not permit anyone to “taint the integrity of the institution and defame the institution”.
He had also indicated that appropriate steps were being initiated, and asked the counsel to “wait for a day”, signalling that the top court would take suo motu cognisance of the issue.
The controversy arose from the revised Class 8 Social Science textbook released by NCERT in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education.
The updated chapter, while discussing the structure and functions of the judiciary, also refers to challenges such as corruption at various levels, pendency of cases, shortage of judges, complex procedures and infrastructural constraints affecting the justice delivery system.
It also provides approximate figures relating to pendency of cases across the Supreme Court, High Courts and district courts, and mentions accountability mechanisms, including complaint redressal systems.
Following objections, NCERT temporarily halted distribution of the textbook after the Union Ministry of Education directed that circulation be kept on hold pending review.
In an official statement, NCERT acknowledged that certain inappropriate material had inadvertently appeared in the chapter and expressed regret over the lapse in editorial judgment.
It clarified that there was no intention to undermine the dignity or authority of the judiciary and assured that the concerned chapter would be revised in consultation with academic experts and institutional stakeholders.
(IANS)
