NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook to be removed after row over ‘judicial corruption’ section: Reports

A day after the Supreme Court opposed NCERT's publication of a Class 8 textbook containing sections on judicial corruption and anti-constitutional contents, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will remove the textbook from its official portal, PTI reported, citing sources.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, along with other senior judges, and advocates, on Wednesday, took suo moto cognizance of a section in the NCERT’s Class 8 Social Science textbook that contained defamatory reference to judicial corruption.

According to a report by the Indian Express, citing sources from the Education Ministry, the NCERT has pulled out the Class 8 Social Science textbook from its website.

CJI Kant, separately expressed strong disapproval of the NCERT’s Class 8 curriculum, and stated that no one is allowed to “defame the judiciary and taint its integrity.”

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NCERT holds meeting with publishers, experts

The new NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook contains content on judicial corruption, the massive backlog of cases, and the shortage of adequate number of judges, as described by the PTI.

Moreover, the NCERT called for an internal meeting to review the recommendations of the subject experts responsible for publishing the chapter and the officials who approved it, the report said.

“NCERT Chairman Dinesh Prasad Saklani did not respond to calls and messages on the issue. Another top official at the council refused to comment, saying the matter is sub judice now,” the report added.

Meanwhile, the government sources said that since NCERT is an autonomous body, officials responsible for adding chapters should have applied their minds, PTI said.

"If students are to be taught about corruption, the chapter should have ideally encouraged them to file a graft complaint, but not single out one institution. An in-house mechanism already exists in the Supreme Court and the 25 high courts to deal with complaints of corruption against judges,” a government functionary said in the report.