SC bans 'corruption in judiciary' authors from working on curricula
The Supreme Court has banned Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar, and Alok Prasanna Kumar from working on any publicly funded curriculum.
The court said their Class eight chapter, "Corruption in the Judiciary," gave students a negative impression of India's courts.
Authors either lacked knowledge or deliberately misrepresented facts: Court
The court said the authors either lacked proper knowledge or "deliberately and knowingly misrepresented the facts" to create a negative image of the judiciary for young students.
This action followed media reports that raised concerns about the textbook content.
Revised chapter to be vetted by special committee
A special committee will now review and approve any rewritten version of this chapter before it gets published.
The disputed Class eight book remains under a court-ordered ban, and any rewritten version of the chapter must be approved by a committee of domain experts before publication, and broader textbook reviews are also underway.
IIT Gandhinagar to review Danino's appointment
IIT Gandhinagar said it will review Danino's appointment after the Supreme Court directed public institutions to dissociate from him, and the court said it may identify and take action against social media accounts or individuals, including those outside India, but did not state it would follow up internationally regarding the authors' roles.
This move comes as debates continue around how school books present sensitive topics like corruption and justice.