Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday (February 28) said people had “misunderstood” the judiciary’s reaction to the recent NCERT Class 8 social science textbook controversy. He said the real concern lay in the chapter’s selective focus and the context in which NCERT introduced it.
Singhvi spoke at the second edition of “Justice Unplugged: Shaping the Future of Law”, hosted by The Hindu in partnership with the VIT School of Law in Delhi. He spoke on the theme “Law, Leadership and Nation Building.”
“Selective portrayal” of corruption, not denial of the problem
During the post-speech interaction, Singhvi responded to a question on the NCERT issue. He said there could be “no two views” that corruption exists in the judiciary, just as it exists in other sectors. He called corruption a major concern, along with pendency.
However, he said the objection targeted the “selectivity” of a two-page chapter. The chapter highlighted corruption in the judiciary, but it did not discuss corruption across other institutions. It also did not address institutional solutions, he said.
Singhvi said the chapter appeared “out of the blue” and placed the judiciary “out of context.” According to him, that framing created an impression that the chapter targeted the institution.
Singhvi flags possible agenda to “threaten” the institution
Singhvi also offered another possible explanation. He said the chapter may have entered the minutes of a meeting without proper scrutiny “from the top.” If that happened, he said, it could point to an attempt by some individuals to “weaken, threaten, intimidate, [and] control the judiciary.”
He said he would not elaborate because the matter remained under judicial scrutiny. He added that judges would decide the issue.
Background: reports, oral mentioning, and Supreme Court action
On February 24, certain media reports said a new NCERT Class 8 social science textbook listed “corruption in judiciary” and case backlogs as major challenges.
On February 25, Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal mentioned the issue orally in court. They said the content scandalised the judiciary. The CJI said he knew about the issue and would not allow anyone to taint the institution’s integrity. The Court also registered a suo motu case in relation to the issue.
On February 26, the Court banned the textbook. It also issued a contempt notice to the NCERT Director and the Secretary, School Education, Ministry of Education. The Court prima facie observed that publishing the book amounted to serious misconduct. It said the act could fall within criminal contempt, if it later proved a deliberate attempt to scandalise the judiciary.
Pendency: Singhvi calls for more judges and timely appointments
On court backlogs, Singhvi said India needed more judges. He pointed to the country’s low judge-to-population ratio. He also stressed timely appointments.
He said India has earned credit for innovations such as PILs and the basic structure doctrine. Yet, he said pendency has worsened and has weakened the protection of rights. He called for sustained implementation of solutions over a long period.
