‘Collective effort, not work of three individuals’: Michel Danino comes on record for first time, files affidavit in SC on NCERT textbook row

In his affidavit, Danino says the chapter on the judiciary in Grade 8 Part 2 followed the same pedagogical framework applied uniformly across the textbook to all institutions — the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary alike. The chapter, he submits, was “overwhelmingly positive in its overall structure,” highlighting the judiciary’s role in protecting human rights, citing Supreme Court interventions in social issues, its striking down of unjust laws, and featuring an inspiring section on Justice Kuldip Singh’s role in developing environmental jurisprudence.

Danino also contests the claim made before the court by NCERT Director Dr Dinesh Prasad Saklani that drafts were circulated “only amongst a few members digitally.” According to the affidavit, a Google Group with over 40 members was set up early in the process, through which successive versions of the judiciary chapter were shared and discussed on September 1, October 23, November 4, and December 3, 2025. Saklani himself, in his capacity as Director and Member Convener of the NOC, was copied on these communications, the affidavit states.

The affidavit further states that the Textbook Development Team for the Grade 8 Part 2 Social Science textbook comprised 15 active members and not three, as implied by Saklani’s submissions to the court. It also disputes the naming of Suparna Diwakar as a drafter, saying she served as Chief Consultant in the NSTC Programme Office since September 2023, assisting with research, liaison, documentation, editing, and proofreading, but was not involved in the finalisation of chapters.

Danino also states that the chapter’s final content was discussed with Professor Manjul Bhargava, a Fields Medal winner, Padma Bhushan awardee, and co-chair of the NSTC, who expressed satisfaction with it in late November 2025. Eight members of the NSTC, including its chairperson Professor M.C. Pant, and five members of the NOC, including its chairperson Professor Jagbir Singh, were regularly kept informed and invited to comment on all drafts.

Senior Advocates Gopal Sankarnarayanan, Aravind Datar, and J. Sai Deepak, representing Diwakar, Danino, and Kumar respectively, appeared before the bench led by CJI Surya Kant and requested that the applications be listed and taken up at the next hearing. Sankarnarayanan told the court that the blacklist observation had caused major doubts about the credibility of the three individuals.

The controversy erupted in February when The Indian Express first reported on the textbook, titled *Exploring Society: India and Beyond* (Class 8, Vol. 2), particularly the section on “corruption in the judiciary” within a chapter on the role of the judiciary in society. The Supreme Court initiated suo motu proceedings, and NCERT released a statement attributing the material to an inadvertent error of judgment, saying it was withdrawing the book and would rewrite the chapter after proper consultation.