CJI pulls up NCERT over ‘corruption in judiciary’
8th class textbook on 'corruption in judiciary' withdrawn after rebuke
New Delhi: The Supreme Court objected to the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) new Class 8 social science textbook that includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”.
Stating that he would “not allow anybody to defame the institution”, Chief Justice Surya Kant said that he had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.
A chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society” in the new Class 8 social science book listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” among the challenges that the judicial system faces.
However, NCERT has pulled its new Class 8 Social Science textbook from sale on Wednesday,” sources said.
“I’m fully aware of it. We will wait for a day. This definitely concerns the entire institution—both bar and bench. I am getting a lot of calls, lots of messages. I’m taking suo motu cognisance of the issue. I will not let anybody, no matter how high up they are, defame the institution,” CJI Kant said.
The issue was raised before the CJI-led bench by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
They argued that students were being taught about corruption in the judiciary as if it existed in no other institution. “They have left out bureaucracy, politics, etc. Not a word on other sectors.
They are teaching as if it only exists in this institution,” the two senior lawyers remarked. The CJI acknowledged the gravity of the matter, calling it “a calculated and deep-rooted thing,” and added, “We will not say anything more than that. As the head of the institution, I’m aware, I’m already doing something about it.”
The inclusion of such a section marked a notable shift from previous editions, which largely focused on the structure and role of courts.
