Education Desk
26 February
Source of Information : WebDesk
The Supreme Court of India has imposed a complete ban on a Class 8 NCERT textbook chapter related to corruption in courts. The Court said the content appeared to be an attempt to defame the judiciary. It ordered that all physical and digital copies of the book must be seized and removed from public access.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant made strong remarks during the hearing. The Chief Justice said the chapter looked like a “calculated attempt” to damage the dignity of the institution. He stated that as the head of the institution, it was his duty to identify those responsible, adding that “heads must roll.” The Court also said that introducing such “biased views” to students at a young age could create wrong impressions about the judiciary and weaken public trust.
The decision came just one day after National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) apologized for the “incorrect content” and promised to rewrite the chapter. However, the Court was not satisfied with the explanation. It observed that NCERT’s letter appeared to justify the chapter instead of offering a genuine apology.
The Court issued show-cause notices to the NCERT Director and the School Education Secretary, asking why contempt proceedings should not be started against those responsible.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta offered an unconditional apology on behalf of the Education Ministry. Despite this, the Court maintained that the matter was serious. It clarified that the action was not meant to stop fair criticism but to protect the dignity of the judiciary.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 11.
