"Brush them under the carpet": Senior Advocate Sibal slams NCERT over Class 8 book section on judicial corruption

New Delhi [India], February 24 (ANI): Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday criticised the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) over a newly added section in its Class 8 textbook on corruption in the judiciary, questioning why corruption in other sectors is not addressed.
In a post on X, Sibal slammed the autonomous body for addressing the issue of corruption in the executive and legislative branches of the government.
"NCERT's Class 8 book includes a section on corruption in the judiciary! What about the massive corruption of politicians, including ministers, public servants, investigation agencies, and why governments? Brush them under the carpet!" Sibal stated in his post.
The senior advocate's comments came after the NCERT introduced a section on "corruption in the judiciary" in its new Class 8 Social Science textbook, marking a significant shift from earlier editions that largely focused on the structure and role of courts.
The revised chapter, titled "The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society", goes beyond explaining the hierarchy of courts and access to justice and addresses challenges faced by the judicial system, including corruption and case backlogs.
The chapter lists the approximate number of pending cases in the Supreme Court (81,000), High Court (6,240,000), and district and Subordinate courts (47,000,000).
In the section on corruption, the textbook states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court but also their conduct outside it and 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).
It also adds that efforts are being made at both the state and Union levels to strengthen transparency and public trust, including through the use of technology and swift action against instances of corruption.
The textbook also quotes former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, who in July 2025 said that instances of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary have a negative impact on public confidence.
"However, the path to rebuilding this trust lies in the swift, decisive and transparent action taken to address and resolve these issues... Transparency and accountability are democratic virtues," he said, as cited in the book. (ANI)