The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of a new section in the Class 8 Social Science textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) that discusses “corruption in the judiciary”, terming it a matter of “grave concern.”
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that “children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern.”
“We are compelled to urgently mention this matter since we, at the Bar, are deeply disturbed. Children in Class 8 are being taught about ‘corruption in the judiciary’. It is a part of the NCERT curriculum and their textbook,” Sibal submitted.
Sibal said that the reference to “corruption,” particularly in relation to the judiciary, seemed deliberate.
“Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench are both perturbed. All the High Court judges are perturbed. I have received many calls. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course. As head of the institution. I have done my duty and I have taken cognisance. This seems to be a calculated move… I will not say much,” CJI Surya Kant said in open court after a group of senior advocates urged the court to intervene.
The CJI described the development as “deep-rooted”, adding that it appeared to be “a calculated and conscious step”.
The controversy centres on a newly released Social Science textbook for Class 8 by NCERT, which includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary” as part of a chapter titled “The role of the judiciary in our society”.
The chapter lists “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” and a “massive backlog” of cases as among the challenges faced by the judicial system. It cites approximate figures of pending cases, noting that about 81,000 matters are awaiting disposal in the Supreme Court, more than 6.2 million in the high courts, and nearly 47 million in district courts.
