NEW DELHI: The revised Social Science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Class 8, released on Monday was not available for sale on Tuesday, even at its office, said multiple sources. The reason – the chapter on corruption in the judiciary has created quite a storm.
Referring to the book, senior advocate Kapil Sibal questioned the corruption of politicians and investigative agencies in a post on X that went viral.
A revised chapter, titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society,” moves beyond explaining the structure and hierarchy of courts to examine systemic issues affecting the justice delivery system.
It states, "Judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court, but also how they conduct themselves outside it. This code known as the Bangalore Principles of Judicial conduct emphasizes that judges must be seen by the public as fair and impartial. They must avoid any action, in their personal and professional lives, that could cause the public to question their integrity."
The chapter goes on to charge, "When judges fail to uphold these standards, the judiciary has an internal mechanism to maintain accountability and ensure the judges follow the values of judicial life. "
Highlighting accountability mechanisms, the book refers to the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) as an established channel for lodging complaints. It states that more than 1,600 complaints were received through the mechanism between 2017 and 2021.
It goes on to say that in cases where the allegations are serious, the Parliament can remove a judge by passing a motion of impeachment.
The textbook also underlines the scale of pendency across courts. It puts the number of pending cases at approximately 81,000 in the Supreme Court, 62.40 lakh in high courts, and 4.70 crore in district and subordinate courts.
Responding to it, senior advocate Kapil Sibal posted on X, "NCERT’s Class 8 book includes a section on: Corruption in the judiciary! What about the massive corruption of: Politicians, including ministers, public servants, and investigation agencies. And why governments brush them under the carpet!"
A source admitted, "We should never have touched the judiciary."
Another source said, "The book was available for sale on Monday at our office and we had brisk sales. We have been asked by the Sales Division to withdraw it from sale from Tuesday."
The online upload of the book generally takes a bit of time after it is made available. So, it is not yet uploaded, another source said.
Another chapter titled "India’s Long Road to Independence" tracks important events from the 1857 uprising to 1947. It adds that though Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders were opposed to the partition of the country, they accepted it as they did not see any other way forward.
Referring to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, it points out that the British have still not apologised for the ruthless killing of Sikhs during a peaceful protest meeting. The massacre is “deeply shameful in British History,” it added.