SC bars experts behind ‘judicial corruption’ chapter in NCERT book from all government projects

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and state governments to ensure that the three persons who were involved in drafting a chapter about “corruption in the judiciary” in a now-withdrawn textbook are not associated with other curriculum projects, Live Law reported.

The court also directed that the Union government, states, Union Territories and universities to not assign the three persons “any responsibility which involves public funds”.

The chapter was part of a Class 8 social science textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. The educational body on Tuesday apologised for the chapter, and said that the entire book has been withdrawn.

This came two weeks after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and banned the publication and re-printing of the textbook.

An affidavit by NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said that a visiting professor, Michel Danino, had supervised the drafting of the chapter, while educator Suparna Diwakar and legal researcher Alok Prasanna Kumar were also involved in the process, Live Law reported.

Danino, an academic, has edited several textbooks, including those for the Central Board of Secondary Education. He has taught Indian civilization and culture at several institutions and was a guest professor at Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar between 2011 and 2017. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017.

Diwakar is a co-founder of the Indian School of Development Management. Kumar, a lawyer, is the co-founder of think tank Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that either the three persons did not have “reasonable knowledge about the Indian judiciary”, or they knowingly misrepresented facts.

“There is no reason why such persons [should] be associated in any manner with the preparation of curriculum or finalisation of textbooks for the next generation,” Live Law quoted the court as saying.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymala Bagchi also asked the Union government to revisit the composition of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee, which had approved the chapter.

The court said that the affidavit of the NCERT director was “disturbing” as it said that the chapter in question had been rewritten, Bar and Bench reported.

“Neither the affidavit nor otherwise has apprised the court as to who are the alleged subject experts who has re-written the chapter again and who has approved its inclusion,” the bench was quoted as saying. “Suffice to say that more complexity shall be created.”

The court directed the Union government to create a panel of experts, preferably including a former judge, an academician and a renowned legal practitioner, to review the rewritten chapter. The revised chapter should not be published without the committee’s nod, the court was quoted as saying by Live Law.

The chapter had listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” among the challenges that the judicial system faces, according to The Indian Express. It was part of a textbook titled “Exploring Society: India and Beyond”.

During a Supreme Court hearing on February 26, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, had apologised to the court. However, the bench had said that the press release issued by the NCERT at the time did not have a “single word of apology”.

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this article’s headline said that the Supreme Court had barred the experts behind the chapter on “judicial corruption” in an NCERT textbook from being a part of further curriculum projects. The court, however, has also directed the Centre and state governments to ensure that the three persons are not associated with any projects that “involve public funds”.