New Delhi, Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Wednesday praised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for taking suo motu cognizance of the chapter on judicial corruption in the NCERT syllabus for Class 8 and said immediate action would help bury propaganda against the judiciary.
This action will reaffirm people’s loyalty to the intellectual and professional integrity of the judiciary which is vital to strengthening the foundations of constitutional democracy in India, he said in a statement.
“The Chief Justice of India has done a good job, as expected from his high office, in taking suo motu cognizance of an offensive chapter in the NCERT syllabus indicating rampant judicial corruption,” he said.
A class devoted to study by children of impressionable age would discredit one of the vital pillars of our democracy, which is the ultimate arbiter of constitutional conscience, Kumar said.
“The dissenting dismissal which suggests widespread judicial corruption and is not supported by empirical evidence is an unacceptable constitutional violation. We hope that the immediate action taken by the Chief Justice in this matter will bury the malicious propaganda against the judiciary as a whole and reaffirm the willing loyalty of the people to the intellectual and professional integrity of the judiciary.
“This is vital to strengthen the foundations of our constitutional democracy,” the former Law and Justice Minister in the United Progressive Alliance government led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
CJI Kant on Wednesday strongly objected to the chapter on judicial corruption in the NCERT syllabus for Class 8, saying no person on earth would be allowed to defame the judiciary and tarnish its integrity.
A three-judge bench comprising the CJI and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, took suo motu cognizance of the “unacceptable” statements about the judiciary in NCERT textbooks after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, along with Abhishek Singhvi, mentioned the matter for urgent consideration.
NCERT social science books for class 8 say that corruption, huge backlog of cases and lack of adequate number of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system.
A section titled “Corruption in the Judiciary” in the new textbooks says judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behavior in court, but also how they act outside it.
“I can assure you all that I am fully aware of this matter,” the CJI said, adding that he had received various calls and messages and that several Supreme Court judges “felt disturbed.”
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