The Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has constituted an expert committee, including former judges and a senior lawyer, to redraft the controversial judiciary chapter in an NCERT Class 8 textbook. The move follows objections over content referring to corruption in the judiciary.
Centre Informs SC of New Committee to Review Controversial NCERT Chapter
New Delhi: The central government informed the Supreme Court on Friday that an expert committee has been formed to redraft the controversial chapter on the judiciary in the NCERT Class 8 textbook. The committee includes former Supreme Court judges Indu Malhotra and Aniruddha Bose, along with former Attorney General K.K. Venugopal.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, presented this information before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V.M. Pancholi. He stated that the committee has been tasked with redrafting the chapter. Following this information, the court disposed of the suo motu case filed in the matter.
The controversy arose over the NCERT Class 8 textbook, "Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Vol. 2)." The book included a section on "Corruption in the Judiciary" under the chapter "The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society," which was objected to.
The issue was first raised by senior advocate Kapil Sibal in court on February 25th. Subsequently, the Supreme Court took cognizance of the matter. During a detailed hearing on February 26th, the court banned the production and distribution of the book and sought information about the members of the National Board of Education who wrote the relevant chapter.
Meanwhile, NCERT issued a press note calling the controversial section an "inadvertent error" and vowing to remove it. However, when NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani informed the court that the chapter had been rewritten, the court expressed displeasure. The court called the response "worrying" because it did not provide information about the experts and approvers.
The Supreme Court directed the central government to form an expert committee consisting of a retired judge, a distinguished academic, and an experienced lawyer. The National Judicial Academy was also asked to be involved in this process.
