The Supreme Court on September 1, closed its suo motu proceedings over a controversial chapter on “Corruption in Judiciary” that had appeared in an NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana passed the order after being informed that the disputed chapter had been replaced following revisions by an expert panel constituted by the Centre. The revised textbooks are now in circulation.
Background
The proceedings began after concerns were raised over the manner in which the Class 8 textbook discussed challenges before the judicial system. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the withdrawal and ban of the textbook containing the disputed material.
The Court had also passed directions concerning three academics associated with preparation of the chapter. Those directions were subsequently recalled, along with adverse observations concerning the academics.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar sought clarification regarding an earlier order. He submitted that a statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about the curriculum not being placed before the concerned committee could be misunderstood as a finding against the academics.
The Court clarified:
“It is clarified that these were only statements reported and not the observations or order passed by the Court. These are not observations or an order of the Court.”
After recording the clarification and noting that the disputed chapter had been replaced, the Bench ordered that the main case and the proceedings stood disposed of.
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