Chief Justice Surya Kant orders immediate nationwide book withdrawal
Taking swift action, India's highest judicial authority issued a strict warning regarding a newly released educational material. Chief Justice Surya Kant has firmly blocked the distribution of an NCERT Class 8 textbook containing a controversial chapter discussing corruption within the judiciary. He emphasised that those responsible must face consequences, stating that ensuring accountability remains his primary duty.
During a recent hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant grilled Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. He served a show-cause notice to the council's chairman, demanding a thorough investigation into how these sensitive materials ended up in the school curriculum. State authorities and the central government received clear instructions to enforce this ruling immediately. Officials face serious legal repercussions if they fail to comply with these urgent directives.
Judges mandated a sweeping, nationwide removal of the contentious material from both physical bookshelves and digital platforms. Educational departments across states, and immediately halt public access to this specific social science book.
Directors leading the educational council now bear the heavy responsibility of seizing copies already dispatched to schools. Furthermore, teachers are strictly forbidden from using either physical or downloaded versions of this text for classroom instruction. Creating new copies or attempting to distribute existing ones will now be considered a direct breach of judicial orders, potentially leading to severe contempt charges.
Seeking total transparency, the bench demanded the names and professional credentials of everyone on the National Syllabi Board who helped draft this problematic section. They also asked for the original meeting minutes to understand the exact approval process.
Prior to this severe judicial intervention, officials had already acknowledged their misstep. Following directives from the Ministry of Education, they halted the distribution of "Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol II". They publicly expressed regret over the inappropriate content found in Chapter 4, which focused on the judiciary's role. Leaders clarified their deep respect for constitutional upholders, calling the inclusion a completely unintentional error of judgement.
Further discussions and compliance reviews are scheduled for the next court hearing on March 11.
With Agency Inputs
