India’s top court on Thursday rebuked the country’s school curriculum body and ministry of education for publishing a textbook with a section on “corruption in judiciary” and ordered its immediate ban.
During a hearing in the capital Delhi, the Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to the ministry of education and top officials for publication of an 8th grade textbook for social science subject which detailed challenges faced by Indian courts and even taught students about how judges can be removed.
The book has been published by the country’s prominent academic arm National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which develops the curriculum for Indian students across subjects and is recommended for students above 9th grade.
The notice has been issued to the secretary of school education and the NCERT director, asking them why any action under the Contempt of Courts Act or any other law should not be taken against them.
In a chapter about the role of judiciary in Indian society, the textbook reportedly referred to topics like “judicial corruption, complaints against judges, lack of transparency” and excerpts from a former Chief Justice of India’s speech. It also detailed the process of removal of court judges with parliamentary action.
In a suo motu hearing, the court bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi, and Vipul M Pancholi said it was “nearly shocked” to see publication of such content on Indian judiciary.
The publication of the book, CJI Kant said, was a "deep-rooted, well-orchestrated conspiracy" to malign the Indian judiciary.
Another chapter titled “justice delayed is justice denied” has been published with inaccurate figures about backlog in the Indian courts, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said.
"We cannot teach our children that justice is denied in the country," he said.
There appears to be a “calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean dignity of the institution", the bench said, adding that if allowed to be published unchecked, the chapter will erode the stature of the judiciary in the public esteem and faith on top institution in the impressionable young minds.
Publishing a paragraph on the number of complaints received against judges gives an impression that no action has been taken against them, the bench noted.
The bench also pointed out that comments made by former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai were taken out of context to imply that the CJI had acknowledged the existence of corruption.
The court noted that such a textbook is not only studied by school children, but also reached their parents, wider society and the next generation.
Prime facie, the Supreme Court said, the book’s publication is a serious misconduct and comes within the purview of criminal contempt of court, if proved to be a deliberate act to scandalise the judiciary.
Coming down on the officials, the court has issued a blanket ban on the publication, re-printing and digital dissemination of the book containing the contemptuous chapters and said any sharing of the content, in any form, will be taken seriously.
The court has also asked for the physical copies to be immediately seized and “no instruction should be imparted to students based on the book”.
"It shall be the personal responsibility of NCERT Director and the principal of every school where the book has reached to effectuate immediate seizure and sealing of all copies of the book in their premises and submit a compliance report,” the court said.
The court has also asked the NCERT to submit the names of the persons involved in preparing the now-banned chapter.
US waters down language on trade deal fact sheet amid farmers’ protest
How one state’s renaming has sparked calls for similar changes across India
Can India become the third pole in global AI dominance?
Air ambulance carrying burn victim crashes in dense forest killing all on board
Indian legislator severely injured during 2023 Manipur ethnic violence dies
SpiceJet aircraft turns back minutes after take-off triggering ‘full emergency’
