NCERT issues public apology for 'Judicial Corruption' chapter, withdraws book from market

News Topical, Digital Desk : NCERT issued a public apology on Tuesday for a book that recently drew the ire of the Supreme Court. The book contained a chapter on judicial corruption, which the apex court objected to.

NCERT said the entire textbook has been withdrawn. The Class 8 social science textbook had stated that corruption, a huge backlog of cases, and a lack of adequate number of judges were among the challenges facing the judicial system.

We apologize unconditionally: NCERT

In a statement issued on Tuesday, NCERT said, "The National Council of Educational Research and Training recently published a social science textbook, 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond' Grade 8 (Part 2), which contained Chapter 4 titled 'The Role of Judiciary in Our Society'."

It further said, "The Director and Members of NCERT tender their unconditional and unreserved apology for that Chapter Four. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available."

The Chief Justice had taken a dig at

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi had taken suo motu cognizance of the "objectionable" statements about the judiciary in NCERT books after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi sought urgent consideration of the matter.

CJI Kant had strongly objected to a chapter on judicial corruption in the NCERT Class 8 syllabus and said that no one in the world will be allowed to defame the judiciary and tarnish its integrity.

The central government had promised to take action

The Supreme Court had completely banned any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT Class 8 Social Science book as it contained 'objectionable' content on corruption in the judiciary.

The government had expressed anger over the inclusion of the controversial section in the book and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had promised to fix accountability and take action against those involved in drafting it.

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