The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of concerns over references to “corruption in the Indian judiciary” in a newly introduced Class 8 Social Science textbook brought out by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asserting that he would not permit anyone to “defame or denigrate” the institution.
The development unfolded before a Bench led by the CJI after senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal raised objections to the contents of the revised textbook, saying members of the legal fraternity were “deeply disturbed” that schoolchildren were “being taught about corruption in the judiciary” without similar references to other institutions.
“We are deeply disturbed as members of this institution to find that children of Class 8 are being taught about corruption in the judiciary. We have a great stake in the institution. We have copies of the book,” Sibal said in court.
“I can assure all of you that I am fully aware of it,” CJI Kant said, noting that he had been receiving numerous calls and messages on the issue.
“Wait for a day. This is definitely concerning the entire institution. The Bar and the Bench are perturbed. Every stakeholder in the system is really disturbed. I am receiving a lot of calls and messages,” said the CJI.
He further remarked, “I will not allow anyone on earth to taint the integrity of the institution and defame the institution. At any cost, I will not permit it. Whosoever high it may be, the law will take its course. I know how to deal with it.”
Describing the matter as serious, the CJI observed, “It’s a calculated and deep-rooted thing. We will not say anything more than that. As head of institution I’m aware, I’m already doing something about it.”
The senior advocates contended that the textbook discusses corruption in the judiciary “as if it doesn’t exist anywhere else in any 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.”
What the revised NCERT chapter contains
The controversy stems from a chapter titled ‘The role of the judiciary in our society’ in the newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook.
The revised chapter mentions issues such as “corruption at various levels of the judiciary”, shortage of judges, lengthy legal procedures, pendency of cases, and insufficient infrastructure as challenges affecting the justice delivery system.
It cites approximate figures of around 81,000 matters pending before the Supreme Court, almost 62.4 lakh cases in High Courts and approximately 4.7 crore cases before district and subordinate courts.
The book also refers to accountability mechanisms, noting that judges are governed by a code of conduct that governs judicial and personal behaviour.
The previous edition of the textbook mainly focused on independence, the functions of the judiciary, and its structure.
Explained: Why the revised NCERT class 8 textbook has sparked a political storm