Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant expressed strong disapproval regarding mentions of “corruption in the judiciary” in a new Class 8 Social Science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). This concern was raised by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi during a Bench led by CJI Kant. Sibal highlighted the distress within the legal community over teaching schoolchildren about judicial corruption, calling it “entirely scandalous.”
CJI Kant acknowledged being informed about the issue and receiving numerous communications from judiciary members expressing worry. He assured that he was taking action on the matter and shared that many High Court judges were also troubled by the textbook content. Sibal urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance, to which CJI Kant mentioned that he had already initiated proceedings, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation for the entire legal system.
The controversy stems from the latest Class 8 Social Science textbook by NCERT, which includes a section discussing challenges faced by the judiciary under the chapter ‘The role of the judiciary in our society.’ The revised chapter addresses issues like corruption in the judiciary, case backlog, judge shortages, legal complexities, and inadequate infrastructure affecting the justice system. The updated textbook also presents statistics on pending cases, including approximately 81,000 matters in the Supreme Court, around 62.4 lakh cases in High Courts, and about 4.7 crore cases in district and subordinate courts.
