NCERT withdraws Class 8 textbook, apologises over chapter on judicial corruption

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has issued an unconditional apology and withdrawn a Class 8 social science textbook after the Supreme Court strongly objected to a chapter discussing corruption within the judiciary.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the NCERT said the book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Grade 8, Part 2), contained a chapter titled “The Role of Judiciary in our Society” that had triggered the controversy.

“The director and members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said chapter four,” the statement said. It added that the entire textbook had been withdrawn and was no longer available.

The disputed chapter had described corruption, a large backlog of cases and an inadequate number of judges as key challenges facing the judicial system.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi raised the matter for urgent consideration before the court.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi criticised the content of the chapter and expressed concern over what it described as objectionable remarks about the judiciary.

During the hearing, CJI Kant said the judiciary’s integrity could not be allowed to be defamed. The court subsequently imposed a complete ban on any further publication, reprinting or digital distribution of the Class 8 social science textbook, citing what it called “offending” content related to corruption in the judicial system.

The bench remarked that the inclusion of such material had caused harm to the institution and described the situation as one in which “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding”.

The government also expressed concern over the inclusion of the controversial section. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said accountability would be fixed and action would be taken against those responsible for drafting the content.

With PTI inputs