Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the NCERT book carrying a chapter on corruption in the judiciary is unfortunate and the government is looking at the matter very seriously. Talking to the media, Mr Pradhan said he directed the NCERT to withdraw and cancel all books and added that the government have no intention for contempt of judicial system.
Expressing his regret over the matter, Mr Pardhan said that whatever the Supreme Court ordered, the Ministry will follow it. He further added that, he has given the responsibility to the Department Secretary that action must be taken against those, whoever added such an irresponsible chapter in the NCERT book.
Earlier Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban on class 8 NCERT book carrying a chapter on corruption in the judiciary. The apex court also ordered a seizure of all physical copies, along with takedown of its digital forms. The bench posted the mater for further hearing on 11 march.
According to the new Social Science NCERT textbook for Class 8, corruption, massive backlog of cases and shortage of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system. The section on corruption states that judges are bound by a code of conduct governing their behaviour both inside and outside the court.
The book also mentioned that efforts are being made at federal and state levels to strengthen transparency and public trust, including through of technology and swift action against instances of corruption
