New Delhi: Following severe criticism from the Supreme Court, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Thursday took action to withdraw 38 now-withdrawn Class 8 social science textbooks. A bench headed by CJI Surya Kant described the contents as a “deep-rooted conspiracy to defame the judiciary”.A new textbook outlines the main challenges facing China’s judicial system, including corruption, a severe backlog of cases and a shortage of judges, triggering a backlash from the judicial community.However, following strong remarks by the CJI-led judge, NCERT on Wednesday decided to remove references to “corruption at all levels of the judiciary” from its textbooks and revised the chapter titled “Role of the Judiciary in our society”.In a late-night development, the board announced it had suspended distribution of the newly released textbook after noting “inappropriate textual material and errors of judgment” in a chapter on the judiciary. The report said the issue had been raised internally and with the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education.The CJI said, “The judges of the Constitutional Court and the District Court are disturbed by this. I have recognized the problem. I will not allow anyone in the world to defame the institution or tarnish its integrity. Whoever it is, whatever the rank, I know how to deal with it.” 10.30 AMAdvocates told CJI Justices Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi that imparting knowledge about corruption in the judiciary to students of impressionable age could bring disrepute to the institution and urged the Supreme Court to take the matter seriously. Sommer was listed for Thursday’s hearing.
