New Delhi: NCERT on Tuesday issued an “unqualified and unqualified apology” and withdrew its recently published eighth-class social science textbook after the Supreme Court objected to a chapter discussing corruption and other challenges within the judiciary.The book “Exploring Society: India and Beyond” for Class 8 (Part 2) contains Chapter 4 titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society”, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) said in a statement. “The Director and members of NCERT hereby offer an unqualified and unqualified apology for Chapter 4. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available,” the statement said.The chapter describes corruption, large case backlogs and a shortage of judges as challenges facing the judicial system, citing pending cases in various courts as examples.The issue was referred to the SC after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi mentioned that the matter required urgent consideration. A three-judge bench headed by CJI Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, took “suo motu” notice of the alleged “objectionable” content in the textbook.During the hearing, the Chief Justice of India strongly objected to references to corruption in the judiciary, saying no one can defame the institution or undermine its integrity. The court also imposed a “comprehensive ban” on further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the textbook, saying the book contained “offensive” content about the Indian judiciary.The Center also reacted sharply to the controversy. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed anguish over the inclusion of the chapter and said accountability would be held and action would be taken against those involved in drafting the content.
