The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the immediate seizure of all physical and digital copies of an NCERT textbook in circulation that contains a chapter on alleged corruption in the judiciary.
The court also restrained authorities from publishing or distributing any further editions of the book until further orders.
“The NCERT in coordination with Union and State education departments is directed to ensure that all copies of the book, hard copy or soft copy, whether held in retail outlets or schools is removed from public access. Must be removed from all physical and digital platforms immediately,” said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.
A compliance report must be submitted within two weeks.
“Such misconduct, having everlasting impact on judiciary, would fall within definition of criminal contempt, it seems there is a calculated move to undermine institution and demean dignity of judiciary.. If allowed to go unchecked, this will erode people's faith in judiciary,” CJI Surya Kant said. “No one will be allowed to go scot-free. It is my duty to find out who is responsible; heads must roll.”
The apex court also issued a show cause notice to the NCERT director and the school education secretary to explain why action should not be taken. There was not a single word of apology in NCERT’S communication; Rather, they justified it, according to the apex court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tendered an unconditional, unqualified apology on behalf of the education ministry. Mehta also offered to tender fresh unconditional apology through public notice.
The NCERT, in a release, said the error was purely unintentional and regretted the inclusion of inappropriate material.
It reiterated that the objective of the new textbooks was to strengthen constitutional literacy, institutional respect, and informed understanding of democratic participation among students, and there was no intent to question or diminish the authority of any constitutional body.
The NCERT promised to rewrite the chapter and regretted the error of judgement and apologised.
CJI Surya Kant also said there appeared to be a deep-rooted, well-planned conspiracy to defame the judiciary.
'We would like to have deeper probe,' said the court.
The matter has been listed after four weeks and the apex court warned that it will take serious action if directions on the blanket ban on the book are defied in any form.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the contents of the Class 8 NCERT textbook referring to corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern."
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern."
Justice Bagchi called it an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution itself.
"The book seems to go against the basic structure itself," the judge said.
On February 24, the NCERT came out with a book “Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol II” for Class 8.
According to media reports, the book has a section on “corruption in the judiciary” as part of a chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society”.
The chapter reportedly mentioned corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and a lack of an adequate number of judges as the "challenges" faced by the judicial system.
The section also stated that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court but also how they conduct themselves outside it.
