Bhubaneswar, Feb 26: The Supreme Court of India has issued show cause notices to the Secretary of the Department of Education and Literacy (Ministry of Education) and to NCERT Director Dr. Dinesh Prashad Saklani to show cause as to why suitable action either under Contempt or under any other law against those who have prepared the sub-chapter in the Class 8 NCERT book “Corruption in the judiciary.”
Refusing to stall its suo motu proceedings, even after the NCERT had issued an apology with respect to the said selective inclusion of the said Chapter, a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi has imposed a blanket ban on the Class 8 textbook in question. It has clarified that any attempt to circumvent or bypass this order will be treated as direct interference with the administration of justice and will amount to contempt of court.
The Court has further directed the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to place on record the details of the Teaching–Learning Materials Committee that approved the impugned chapter. The names, qualifications, and credentials of all members of the chapter development team are to be furnished before the Court.
“They have fired the gun and the judiciary is bleeding today. Today, anybody can say anything. At times, there is a mounting attack on us, and we are aware of it. The material is available online, on the internet, and even in stores. This is a very calculated move — the entire teaching will be dictated. When you look at how the Indian judiciary is portrayed as corrupt, it becomes evident what message is being sent.
The entire teaching community will first be instructed that this is what they have to teach.
In reality, not a single section of society has been left untouched. It is a deep-rooted, well-planned, and orchestrated conspiracy.”, the CJI said.
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