The Supreme Court’s recent strong action against an NCERT Class 8 textbook has now triggered a fresh petition challenging another passage in a different school book for allegedly presenting the judiciary in a distorted manner.
A former NCERT Senior Associate Fellow has moved the top court questioning a paragraph in the Class 8 textbook Social and Political Life – III, prescribed nationwide since 2007.The petition has been filed in the backdrop of the Court’s February 26 order in a suo motu case wherein it took serious objection to content in a another textbook - the recently released Class 8 Social Science book titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Vol. 2).
In the earlier case, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had issued contempt notice to the Department of School Education and the NCERT Director over a chapter on “corruption in judiciary.”The top court had also warned that if the material was found to be a deliberate attempt to interfere with the administration of justice, it could amount to criminal contempt.It is in continuation of these proceedings that the present petition has been filed.
The new plea challenges a passage at Page 62 of Social and Political Life – III, in a chapter dealing with the role of the judiciary and the right to livelihood. The sentence states that “recent judgments tend to view the slum dweller as an encroacher in the city.”
According to the petitioner, this statement presents eviction jurisprudence in a selective and decontextualised manner. It allegedly fails to explain that courts are required to balance competing constitutional rights, statutory mandates and public interest considerations.
According to the petition, when such a portrayal is introduced in a foundational textbook meant for impressionable Class 8 students, it risks creating a one-sided perception that constitutional courts are insensitive or regressive.The plea argues that such content, if not properly contextualised, may impair public confidence in the judiciary and undermine institutional dignity.
The petitioner has disclosed that he was himself associated with NCERT’s textbook development process and had co-authored and translated textbooks in the past.He says he is approaching the Court not in an adversarial capacity but as a “participant-witness” to assist the Court in preserving constitutional integrity in educational material.
The plea says the continued circulation of the book from 2007 till date warrants urgent constitutional scrutiny.The case is expected to be taken up along with or in continuation of the ongoing suo motu proceedings.The petition was filed through advocates Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Raja Choudhary.
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