In the latest development in the NCERT Class 8 book row on the ‘Corruption in Judiciary’ section, controversial references to judicial corruption in NCERT’s Class 8 social science textbook may be removed after the government expressed strong reservations over the content. This comes in line with the Supreme Court slamming NCERT for adding a section on 'Corruption in Judiciary' in class 8 textbooks. Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised the matter before the Chief Justice of India, expressing serious concern over the inclusion of content on judicial corruption in anNCERT Class 8 textbook.
“We are deeply disturbed as members of this institution to see that Class 8 students are being taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is part of the NCERT curriculum. We have a strong stake in preserving the integrity of the institution; this is completely scandalous. We have copies of the book,” Sibal said, according to reports.
The NCERT has pulled the book from its website. Sources told PTI that the controversial portions about judicial corruption in NCERT's class 8 textbook could be removed, as the government has not taken kindly to the matter. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi has taken suo motu cognisance of the "objectionable" statements about the judiciary in NCERT textbooks after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, alongside Abhishek Singhvi, mentioned the matter for urgent consideration. Amid the controversy, NCERT has reportedly convened an internal review meeting. Government sources said that while NCERT is autonomous, broader institutional balance should have been maintained and the Union Law Ministry was not consulted for fact verification.
NCERT’s newly introduced Class 8 social science textbook describes corruption, a huge backlog of cases, and shortage of judges as major challenges facing India’s judicial system. The book cites data of around 81,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, 62.40 lakh in high courts, and 4.70 crore in district and subordinate courts. It also mentions internal accountability mechanisms, including complaints filed through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), which received over 1,600 complaints between 2017 and 2021.
"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. As per the drafters of the constitution, the judiciary is an independent institution which is capable of dealing with such cases," a government functionary said.
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