NCERT book row: SC modifies earlier order concerning 3 academics

NEW DELHI: (May 22) The Supreme Court on Friday modified its March 11 order that had directed the Centre, states and others to disassociate from three academics, following a row over an NCERT book chapter containing "offending" contents on corruption in the judiciary.

The apex court left it open to the Centre, states, Union territories, public universities and institutions that receive funds from the central or state governments to take an independent decision on the issue, without being influenced by its observations made in the March 11 order.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi also recalled the part of the March 11 order that had recorded that the three academics -- Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar -- had "deliberately and knowingly misrepresented the facts" in order to project a negative image of the Indian judiciary to the students of Class 8.