Supreme Court Raises Concerns Over NCERT's Class 8 Textbook on Judicial Corruption

Supreme Court's Objection to Educational Material

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court expressed its disapproval of a new social science textbook for Class 8 published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which contains a segment discussing "corruption in the judiciary," as reported by various news sources.

Chief Justice Surya Kant emphasized that he would not permit any defamation of the judiciary, stating that he had taken suo moto cognizance of the issue.

The textbook's chapter titled "The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society" identifies "corruption at various levels of the judiciary" as one of the significant challenges faced by the judicial system, according to reports.

The text mentions that despite existing codes of conduct for judges and complaint mechanisms, citizens still encounter corruption within the judiciary. It highlights that this issue can exacerbate access to justice for the underprivileged.

In contrast, the previous edition of the textbook focused solely on the judiciary's role, court structures, and access, without addressing corruption, although it did touch on delays in hearings.

During the proceedings, advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi expressed their distress regarding the matter. Chief Justice Kant acknowledged his awareness and concern, stating, "This is definitely concerning the entire institution. The bar and the bench are perturbed. Every stakeholder in the system is really perturbed. I am receiving a lot of calls and messages."

He firmly stated, "I will not allow anyone on earth to taint the integrity of the institution and defame it. 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."