Supreme Court recalls earlier direction against academics in NCERT judiciary chapter row

The Supreme Court has recalled parts of its earlier order related to the controversy surrounding an NCERT Class 8 social science chapter on corruption in the judiciary. The court modified its previous directions that had asked governments and publicly funded institutions to distance themselves from three academics involved in preparing the chapter.

The three academics — Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar, and Alok Prasanna Kumar — had challenged the earlier observations made against them.

The Supreme Court clarified that its concern was primarily with the content of the chapter and not with the individuals associated with preparing it.

The bench also removed earlier remarks suggesting that the academics had intentionally misrepresented facts.

The controversy began after an NCERT Class 8 chapter discussing corruption in the judiciary sparked criticism and legal concerns.

Earlier this year, the court had ordered the withdrawal of the textbook and raised objections to portions of the content.

With the revised order, the Supreme Court has left it to the Centre, states, universities, and institutions to independently decide whether to associate with the academics in future projects without being influenced by the court’s previous observations.