New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- The judiciary, as an institution, is not, and cannot be, averse to criticism, the Supreme Court has asserted while cautioning that fair, informed and constructive critique is a legitimate feature of a vibrant constitutional democracy but cannot turn into irresponsible discourse or uninformed assertions, particularly in school curriculum meant for impressionable minds. The observation came as a bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, closed suo motu proceedings triggered by a controversial chapter in the Class 8 NCERT social science textbook, which contained a section titled "Corruption in the Judiciary". The court said that the distinction was not between "criticism and silence", but between "responsible discourse and uninformed assertion". "Fair, informed and constructive critique of judicial functioning is a legitimate and necessary feature of a vibrant constitutional democracy, contributing to institutional accountability and self-correction," the bench said in its September 1 order, released on Tuesday. "What is required, however, is that such criticism be voiced through the appropriate forum and in a fair, rational mechanism, and not find its way, without verification, into a school curriculum meant for impressionable minds," it added. The court's observations came while recording that the purpose behind initiating the proceedings had been substantially achieved after the offending textbook was recalled, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) tendered an unconditional apology and the Centre undertook a comprehensive review of the curriculum. The controversy had erupted after the release of NCERT's Class 8 social science textbook, "Exploring Society: India and Beyond", which contained a chapter titled "The Role of the Judiciary in our Society" and a sub-topic explicitly titled "Corruption in the Judiciary". The top court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue in February, expressing concern that the material, in the absence of a corresponding account of the constitutional role of the judiciary and measures undertaken to strengthen it, could undermine the institution's authority and dignity and erode public faith among young students. It had consequently ordered the withdrawal and seizure of copies of the textbook and prohibited its further physical and digital dissemination. NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani and secretary, department of school education and literacy, Sanjay Kumar, subsequently tendered unconditional apologies before the court. The Centre informed the court that 82,440 copies of the textbook already in circulation had been recalled. The government also constituted a three-member expert committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Indu Malhotra, with former Attorney General KK Venugopal and Professor Prakash Singh as its other members, to work with the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, on revising and finalising the curriculum. The Justice Malhotra-led committee subsequently reviewed the contentious chapter and other material flagged before the court and submitted a revised version....