Centre forms panel of KK Venugopal, Justices Indu Malhotra, Aniruddha Bose to re-draft chapter on judiciary in NCERT textbook

The Central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has formed a committee comprising former Supreme Court Justices Indu Malhotra and Aniruddha Bose, as well as former Attorney General KK Venugopal to re-draft the chapter on the judiciary in NCERT textbooks..A submission to this effect was made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre before a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and VM Pancholi. He said,"We have formed the committee to draft the chapter. Mr Venugopal will be a member of the committee. Justice Indu Malhotra will also be a part. We have also requested Justice Aniruddha Bose from the National Judicial Academy will also be there.".With this submission, the Court disposed of the suo motu case it had registered over the chapter in question..The book in question, titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Class 8, Vol. 2), reportedly contained a section on “corruption in the judiciary” as part of a chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society."The issue was first mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on February 25, when the Court revealed that it has already taken cognisance of the issue.Meanwhile, NCERT released a press note attributing the controversial portion of the textbook to an inadvertent error of judgment, adding that it is withdrawing the said portion of the book and would be rewriting it after proper consultation.When the matter was heard in detail on February 26, the apex court imposed a blanket ban on production and distribution of the book and also sought details on those members of the National Syllabi Board who wrote the offending chapter.On that date, the Court also issued notice under the Contempt of Courts Act to the Department of School Education and to NCERT Director Dr Dinesh Prasad Saklani, asking them to show cause why suitable action should not be initiated against them or those who are behind the offending chapters..On the last date of hearing, the Court took objection to the NCERT Director's submission that the controversial chapter has been rewritten. It noted that the reply by the NCERT Director was "disturbing" since it does not give any details on the experts who have rewritten the chapter or those who approved its inclusion in the revised book.The Court then directed the Central government to constitute the committee which shall comprise one retired judge, one renowned academician and one renowned lawyer.The expert committee of domain experts is to be formed within one week and the National Judicial Academy at Bhopal should also be taken into confidence for the preparation of content on legal studies, the Court further ordered..Disturbing: Supreme Court on NCERT decision to rework controversial chapter on judiciary without jurists; blacklists earlier experts.Pertinently, the Court also directed that the Union government and States shall not associate with Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar, who were involved in drafting the earlier controversial chapter.This was after the NCERT director informed the Court that Danino was involved in drafting the earlier chapter and he was assisted by Diwakar and Kumar.Interestingly, the Court also directed that action should be taken against "some elements" on social media for "acting irresponsibly.""Some elements in so called social media have acted irresponsibly. We firmly believe in catching bull by its horns. We direct the Government of India to identify the platforms and the persons who have indulged in so for lawful action to be taken. The law must take its course. Even if they are hiding in this country somewhere, we will not spare them," the Bench said..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.