The sale of the newly published NCERT Class VIII social science textbook was halted after it sparked controversy over a section on “corruption in the judiciary”. Officials confirmed the book, released on February 23, was pulled from sale on Tuesday. NCERT also discussed dropping the ‘objectionable’ content.The book has introduced a section on “corruption in the judiciary” in the chapter titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society”. The chapter lists the approximate number of pending cases in the Supreme Court (81,000), High Court (62,40,000), and district and Subordinate courts (4,70,00,000).It states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court but also their conduct outside it. The chapter highlights the judiciary’s internal accountability mechanisms and refers to the established procedure for receiving complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).In a statement, NCERT noted that Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol II contained “certain inappropriate textual material” and an “error of judgement” in Chapter 4, “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society”.The Department of School Education & Literacy (Ministry of Education) issued similar observations and directed that distribution remain on strict hold until further orders. NCERT complied immediately.According to the statement: “NCERT holds the judiciary in the highest esteem as upholder of the Constitution and protector of Fundamental Rights. The error was purely unintentional, we regret including inappropriate material.”“NCERT, once again, regrets this error of judgement and apologises while re-iterating our resolve to continuously work for institutional sanctity and respect,” the statement said.Ex-Law Minister Ashwani Kumar lauds CJI actionFormer Law Minister Ashwani Kumar today said the Chief Justice of India had done well to take suo motu cognisance of an offensive chapter in the NCERT curricula suggesting “judicial corruption”.“The chapter meant for study by children of impressionable age is bound to bring into disrepute the credentials of a vital pillar of our democracy, which is the final arbiter of the constitutional conscience.The offending chapter suggesting widespread judicial corruption, not supported by empirical evidence, is an unacceptable constitutional transgression,” Kumar said in a statement. He said the CJI’s action would hopefully bury the insidious propaganda against the judicial branch as a whole and reaffirm the willing allegiance of the people in the intellectual and professional integrity of the judicial branch.