New Delhi, Feb 25 (NationPress) Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant voiced significant concern on Wednesday regarding the mention of "corruption in the judiciary" in a newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook produced by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). He emphasized that no one would be allowed to "defame or denigrate" the respected institution.

This issue came to light during a session led by CJI Kant, where senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised alarms about the revised textbook's content.

Sibal pointed out that members of the legal community were "deeply disturbed" by the information being imparted to schoolchildren regarding judicial corruption, calling it "absolutely scandalous".

“We are profoundly troubled as members of this institution to observe that Class 8 students are learning about corruption in the judiciary. We have a significant interest in this institution. We have copies of the book,” stated the senior counsel before the apex court.

In response, CJI Kant acknowledged his awareness of the ongoing controversy and noted that he had received multiple communications from judicial members expressing their apprehensions.

“I assure you all that I am fully aware of the situation,” the CJI stated, adding that numerous High Court judges were also "perturbed" by the textbook's contents.

When Sibal called for the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance, CJI Kant revealed that he had already taken steps regarding this matter.

“Please wait for a day. This is certainly concerning for the entire institution. Both the Bar and the Bench are disturbed. Every participant in the system is genuinely worried. I am receiving numerous calls and messages,” the CJI remarked.

“I will not permit anyone to tarnish the integrity of this institution and to defame it. Under no circumstances will I allow it. Regardless of who they are, the law will prevail. I know how to manage this,” he added.

The controversy stems from the recently issued Class 8 Social Science textbook by NCERT, which includes a section addressing the challenges faced by the judiciary under a chapter titled ‘The role of the judiciary in our society’.

The updated chapter highlights issues such as "corruption at various levels of the judiciary", extensive case backlogs, a shortage of judges, complex legal procedures, and inadequate infrastructure, all of which affect the justice delivery system.

The previous edition of the textbook mainly focused on the structure, independence, and functions of the judiciary while recognizing delays in case resolutions through the well-known phrase “justice delayed is justice denied”.

The revised textbook also provides approximate statistics regarding pending cases, noting that about 81,000 matters are pending before the Supreme Court, nearly 62.4 lakh cases in High Courts, and around 4.7 crore cases with district and subordinate courts.

In addressing accountability measures, the book explains that judges adhere to a code of conduct that regulates both their judicial and personal behavior, and mentions institutional procedures for lodging complaints, including the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), which reportedly received over 1,600 complaints from 2017 to 2021.

NCERT has been implementing comprehensive textbook revisions in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for School Education.

The updated textbook, released on February 23 in accordance with NEP 2020, also revisits significant historical events, including the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the 1946 Direct Action Day, along with a more extensive discussion on the Partition of India.