New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday issued a show-cause notice to the secretary in the department of school education, and to National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dr Dinesh Prasad, over a portion on “corruption in judiciary” in NCERT’s Class 8 social science textbook. It also imposed a blanket ban on the production and distribution of the book.
Sharply criticising the contents of the chapter, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant asked them to show cause as to why suitable action either under the Contempt of Courts Act or other provisions of law not be initiated against them or “those who are behind the offending chapters”.
“It seems to us that there is a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary. This, if allowed to go unchecked, will erode the sanctity of judicial office in (the) estimation of public at large and within impressionable minds of youth,” the CJI said.
Along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi on the bench, the CJI ordered that all copies (hard and soft) of the book in retail stores or otherwise should be removed from public circulation. Principal secretaries of the department of education of all states have been directed to comply with the order and submit compliance reports within two weeks.
The social science textbook was released Monday while the court initiated suo-motu proceedings in the matter Wednesday.
Post the SC rap, the NCERT put out a release noting that the “error is purely unintentional and NCERT regrets the inclusion of inappropriate material in the said chapter”. “And, hence, the same shall be rewritten with consultation of the appropriate authority…”
The CJI Thursday also enquired about the members of the national syllabi board who wrote the offending chapter. The specific names and credentials along with the original minutes of meetings wherein the offending chapter was deliberated and finalised have to be produced at the next date of hearing.
Posting the matter for 11 March, the CJI said that “we will not close the case” and that “heads must roll”. “They fired a gunshot and now the judiciary is bleeding today,” he said.
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‘Serious consequences’
In its order, the SC noted that the framers of the Indian Constitution were profoundly conscious of constitutional responsibility and hence the three pillars (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary) remain capable of operating with respect to autonomy.
“We were in shock when one of the leading newspapers published an article regarding the release of the social science textbook for grade 8 (part 2) titled ‘Exploring Society, India and Beyond, first edition’ published by NCERT…chapter 4 of the publication is titled ‘the role of judiciary in our society’.”
It added that when the secretary general of the court was asked to check if such a publication was released by NCERT, “instead of filing an introspection of what has been written in the book, in an extremely contemptuous and reckless manner, the NCERT director wrote back defending the contents”.
“It seems to us that there is a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary… while the publication dedicates an entire chapter on the role of judiciary in our society, it washes away the illustrious history of SC, HC and trial courts… it is omitted and the role played by the institution towards preservation of democratic fabric… the text fails to recognise the role of the judiciary which upheld the basic structure doctrine.”
“Given the serious consequences and an everlasting adverse impact on the independence of judiciary… such misconduct will fall within the purview of criminal contempt. If proved to be a deliberate move, it will undoubtedly lead to interfering with administration of justice, besides scandalising the institution,” said the order.
‘Whoever is responsible will pay’
The NCERT is an autonomous body under the ministry of education.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the SC at the outset about tendering an unconditional apology. He mentioned that “the two people who were associated with preparing the chapter” will not be part of any ministerial work from now on. He also said “there are 32 books which are there in the market, we will not have any more books in circulation”.
“Whoever is responsible will pay to your lordship’s satisfaction,” said Mehta.
The court also took note of the subhead in the chapter ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’, which showed case pendency figures.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A.M. Singhvi raised questions about the book singling out corruption in the judiciary, asking “what about the ministers?”. They also apprised the court that circulation of the said content was “much more than books”, as there are PDFs of the content in circulation.
Justice Bagchi then suggested takedown orders for the PDFs as the “judiciary is the protector of the country”.
On Wednesday, the CJI had slammed the textbook chapter, saying he would not allow anyone to defame the judiciary. “I will not allow anyone on Earth to taint the integrity of the institution and defame the institution. At any cost, I will not permit it. Whosoever high it may be, the law will take its course. I know how to deal with it,” he said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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