The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of a new section on “corruption in the judiciary” in the new NCERT Class 8 social science textbook, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant saying he will not allow anyone to defame the institution.
With this section in mind, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek M Singhvi mentioned the issue before the CJI-led bench and wondered why children were being taught about corruption in the judiciary as if it did not exist elsewhere.
“A calculated, deep-rooted thing”
“They (NCERT) have left out bureaucracy, politics etc. Not a word about other sectors. They teach as if (corruption) exists only in this institution,” Sibal and Singhvi said, according to ANI.
Responding to their concerns, the CJI acknowledged the gravity of the problem.
“I am fully aware of that. We will wait a day. It definitely affects the entire institution. Both the bar and the bench. I am getting a lot of calls, a lot of messages. I am taking suo moto cognizance of the issue. I will not allow anyone, no matter how high, to malign the institution,” CJI Kant said.
Commenting that the inclusion of the section appears to be a “calculated and deep-rooted thing”, the CJI added: “We will say nothing more than that. As the head of the institution, I am aware of it, I am already doing something about it.”
The issue of including the section had earlier drawn criticism from Sibal, who on Tuesday questioned the NCERT on the matter.
“NCERT Class 8 book has a section on judicial corruption! What about the massive corruption of politicians including ministers, civil servants, investigative agencies and why governments? Sweep them under the carpet,” Sibal wrote on X.
While earlier versions of the NCERT social studies textbooks for Class 8 focused on the role of the judiciary and the structure of courts in India, the inclusion of a section on corruption marked a significant shift.
ANI said the revised chapter titled “Role of Judiciary in Our Society” goes beyond explaining the hierarchy of courts and access to justice and addresses issues facing the judicial system, including corruption and backlog of cases.
(With input from agencies)
