Supreme Court bans NCERT textbook over chapter on judicial corruption

• The Supreme Court imposed a complete blanket ban on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT’s Class 8 Social Science book as it contains “offending” contents on corruption in the judiciary.

• A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued show-cause notices to the NCERT director and the secretary of the department of school education on February 26.

• The NCERT pulled the textbook from its website, apologised for “inappropriate content” and said it will be rewritten in consultation with the appropriate authorities.

• The government, on its part, expressed anguish over the inclusion of the controversial section in the book, with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan promising to fix accountability and take action against those involved in drafting it.

What is the case about?

• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released a Social Science textbook for Class 8 titled ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’, Vol II earlier this month.

• Chapter 4 of the book is titled ‘The Role of the Judiciary in our Society’ and incorporates a sub-topic explicitly expounding ‘Corruption in the Judiciary’. 

• It states that corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and the lack of an adequate number of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system.

• The inclusion of a section on judicial corruption, while omitting graft in other sectors such as the executive and bureaucracy, drew criticism from legal and political circles.

• The Supreme Court registered a suo motu case over the issue.

• The SC bench observed that there appeared to be a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and a “calculated move” to undermine the institution and demean the dignity of judiciary.

• It directed that all copies of the book currently in circulation be seized immediately and removed from public access without any delay.

• The apex court warned that any attempt to circumvent its order through electronic medium or alternative titles containing the same content shall be treated as a direct interference, wilful breach and defiance of its directions.

• The bench posted the matter for further hearing on March 11.

What is the role of NCERT?

• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 to assist and advise the central and state governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. 

The functions of NCERT and its constituent units are to: 

i) Undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education.

ii) Prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develop educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc.

iii) Organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers.

iv) Develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices.

v) Collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions.

vi) Act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education.

vii) Act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education.

• In addition to research, development, training, extension, publication and dissemination activities, NCERT is an implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries in the field of school education. 

• The NCERT also interacts and works in collaboration with the international organisations, visiting foreign delegations and offers various training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.