Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday expressed concern over the inclusion of a chapter on judicial corruption in the Class 8 textbook issued by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), as reported by PTI.
He assured that responsibility will be established and appropriate action will be taken against those involved in the preparation of the questionable content.
He also stressed that the government has full respect for the judiciary and has no intention of disrespecting the institution, PTI reported.
The remarks came on a day when the Supreme Court observed that there appeared to be a “well-orchestrated conspiracy” to malign the judiciary and imposed a “total blanket ban” on the NCERT Class 8 book and ordered that all copies, both physical and digital, be seized.
“They have fired the shot. Judiciary is bleeding,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said a day after the National Council of Educational Research and Training apologized for the “inappropriate content” of a social studies textbook and said it would be rewritten after consultation with relevant authorities.
A bench also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued a leniency notice to the NCERT director and the secretary of the school education department and asked them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against those responsible.
Reacting to the development, Pradhan said, “I am very saddened by what has happened and express regret… There was no intention to offend the judiciary. An investigation will be conducted and responsibility will be held. Action will be taken against those involved in the preparation of the chapter. As soon as we came to know (about it), the circulation of the textbooks was suspended.”
“In a democratic country like India, judiciary is supreme and we have utmost respect for it. We have taken this matter very seriously. The directives of the court will be followed,” he told reporters in Jamshedpur.
Pradhan was in Jamshedpur to attend a ceremony where President Droupadi Murmu laid the foundation stone for the Jagannath Spiritual Centre.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) social science textbook for the subject class 8 states that corruption, massive backlog of cases and lack of adequate number of judges are among the challenges facing the judicial system.
Following the Supreme Court’s stern words that it would not allow “anyone on earth” to tarnish the integrity of the judiciary, NCERT pulled the textbook from its website, with sources saying the government was angered by the controversial references in the syllabus.
The NCERT on Wednesday apologized for the “inappropriate content” after facing the wrath of the Supreme Court over the chapter and said the book would be rewritten in consultation with relevant authorities.
(With input from agencies)
