Supreme Court took exception to a chapter in NCERT Class 8 book on Corruption in Judiciary.The Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a complete ban on further publication, printing or digital dissemination of NCERT class 8 book which includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary” and said that it would like to have a deeper probe into the matter. The court had earlier registered the matter as a suo motu case on February 25 after the matter was raised before the bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.
What happened during the hearing? Taking a strong exception to the ‘offending textbook’, the Supreme Court remarked that it was a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary. In a strong observation, the CJI said that a gunshot was fired and that the judiciary was bleeding. While dictating the order, CJI issued notices under the Contempt of Courts Act to the Department of School Education and to NCERT Director Dr Dinesh Prasad Saklani, asking them to show cause why suitable action should not be initiated against them.
What the apex court said in its order? The court highlighted that there was a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary. It added that if allowed to go unchecked, this will erode the sanctity of judicial office in the estimation of public at large and within the minds of youth. The court noted that the choice of words in the book may not be a simpliciter inadvertent bonafide error.
In its order the court said that it does not propose to initiate the suo motu proceedings to stifle any legitimate critics or bring to task any individual/organisation exercising their right to scrutinise public institutions including the judiciary. It added that dissent, deliberation and rigorous discourse constitute the very vitality of a living democracy and serves as essential instruments of institutional accountability. The court lamented that the content in the textbook fails to acknowledge the imperative role of judiciary which it undertakes in upholding the constitutional morality and the basic structure doctrine.
Directions issued by the court 1) Show cause notice issued to i) The Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, ii) Dr. Dinesh Prasad Sanklani, NCERT Director, to show cause as to why suitable action either under the Contempt of Courts Act or in accordance with any other provisions of law be not initiated against them or those who are responsible for introducing the offending chapter.
2) The NCERT in co-ordination with Union and State education department or any other union of India departments directed to ensure that all copies of the book, hard or soft, currently in circulation whether held in storage, retail outlets, or edu. institutions are immediately seized and removed from public access.
3) Personal responsibility of NCERT Director and principals of all school where the book has been circulated or reached to effectuate the immediate seizure within their premises and submit a compliance report and ensure that no further pedagogical instruction is imparted based on the contents of physical or digital copy of the subject book.
4) The principal secretary of department of education across all state and UTs directed to comply with these directions and send their compliance reports through affidavits within two weeks.
5) Complete blanket ban on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the book titled Exploring society- India and beyond’. Any attempt to circumvent this order through electronic media or alternative titles containing the same contents to be treated as a direct interference and defiance of the directions issued.
6) NCERT director directed to submit a comprehensive list of members of the National Syllabi and Teaching Learning Materials committee who approved the offending chapter. The specific names of the textbook development team responsible for drafting the chapter shall be furnished.
What is the case? On February 25 the CJI took serious exception to the content of a report by The Indian Express that pointed out that the new Social Science textbook for Class 8 by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”. The CJI said that he “will not allow anyone on earth to play with the integrity and to defame the institution”.
What was the Indian Express Report? On February 25 the Indian Express had reported that the new Social Science textbook for Class 8, released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary” as part of a chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society”. The chapter lists “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” and “massive backlog…on account of multiple reasons, such as a lack of an adequate number of judges, complicated legal procedures, and poor infrastructure” as among the “challenges” faced by the judicial system.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js#watch | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, "We respect the judiciary. Whatever happened is unfortunate. I express regret on behalf of the govt as well as on a personal level. As soon as I came to know 2 days back, I directed the NCERT to… pic.twitter.com/T4boFCX5ZE
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2026
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal had earlier raised the matter before the bench and shared his thoughts on the issue on February 24.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsNCERT’s Class 8 book :
— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) February 24, 2026
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!
Here are the key highlights of the directions passed by the court today-
1) Show cause notice issued to i) The Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, ii) Dr. Dinesh Prasad Sanklani, NCERT Director, to show cause as to why suitable action either under the Contempt of Courts Act or in accordance with any other provisions of law be not initiated against them or those who are responsible for introducing the offending chapter.
2) The NCERT in co-ordination with Union and State education department or any other union of India departments are directed to ensure that all copies of the book, hard or soft, currently in circulation whether held in storage, retail outlets, or edu. institutions are immediately seized and removed from public access.
3) Personal responsibility of NCERT Director and principals of all school where the book has been circulated or reached to effectuate the immediate seizure within their premises and submit a compliance report and ensure that no further pedagogical instruction is imparted based on the contents of physical or digital copy of the subject book.
4) The principal secretary of department of education across all state and UTs are directed to comply with these directions and send their compliance reports through affidavits within two weeks.
5) As an abundant precaution, a complete blanket ban is imposed on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the book titled Exploring society- India and beyond'. Any attempt to circumvent this order through electronic media or alternative titles containing the same contents shall be treated as a direct interference and defiance of the directions issued.
6) The NCERT director is directed to submit a comprehensive list of members of the National Syllabi and Teaching Learning Materials committee who approved the offending chapter. The specific names of the textbook development team responsible for drafting the chapter shall be furnished.
The top court highlighted that there was a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary. It added that if allowed to go unchecked, this will erode the sanctity of judicial office in the estimation of public at large and within the minds of youth. The court noted that the choice of words in the book may not be a simpliciter inadvertent bonafide error.
In its order the court said that it does not propose to initiate the suo motu proceedings to stifle any legitimate critics or bring to task any individual/organisation exercising their right to scrutinise public institutions including the judiciary. It added that dissent, deliberation and rigorous discourse constitute the very vitality of a living democracy and serves as essential instruments of institutional accountability. The court lamented that the content in the textbook fails to acknowledge the imperative role of judiciary which it undertakes in upholding the constitutional morality and the basic structure doctrine.
While issuing an apology, the NCERT published a press release on February 25.
CJI: Director NCERT director is directed to submit a comprehensive list of members of the National Syllabi and Teaching Learning Materials committee who approved the offending chapter. The specific names of the textbook development team responsible for drafting the chapter shall be furnished.
Hearing concludes
CJI: Any attempt to circumvent this order through electronic media or alternative titles containing the same contents shall be treated as a direct interference and defiance of the directions issued.
CJI: As an abundant precaution, a complete ban is imposed on further publication printing or digital dissemination of book titled exploring society India and Beyond
CJI: It shall be the personal responsibility of director of NCERT and principle of every school whether the book has reached to effectuate the immediate seizure
CJI: The NCERT in co-ordination with Union and State education department or any other union of India departments are directed to ensure that all copies of the book, hard or soft, currently in circulation whether held in storage, retail outlets, or edu. institutions are immediately seized and removed from public access.
CJI: As of now we deem it appropriate to issue show cause notice to secretary , department of school education, ministry of education, govt of India and to NCERT Director to show cause as to why suitable action either under the contempt of courts act or in accordance of any other law may not be initiated against them or those who are found responsible for introducing the chapter.
CJI: An apology has been rendered in this press release.
CJI: We may at this stage also take notice of certain events. The notice has been published which is reported in media and a copy thereof has also been placed on record by the SGI which is a press release issued by NCERT. According to this press release the department of school education and literacy (Ministry of Education) has directed that the distribution of book may be kept on strict hold and those directions have since been complied with. It is stated that the chapter in the subject books will be rewritten in consultation with appropriate authority.
CJI: Given the serious consequences and an everlasting adverse impact on independence and autonomy of judiciary such a misconduct would fall within the definition of criminal contempt as it prove to be a deliberate move, it could undoubtedly amount to impeding dignity of the institution and interfering with the administration of justice.
CJI: While taking the initiative we have to keep in mind that the subject book will not remain confine to students only it is bound to travel from teacher to pupil and to the parents namely the entire society
CJI: Young students in their formative years are only beginning to navigate the nuances of public life and the constitutional architecture that sustains. It is fundamentally improper to expose them (young students) to biased narratives that may engender permanent misconceptions at this tender age for the purpose of appreciating the manifold and onerous responsibilities that are discharged by the judiciary on a day to day basis.
CJI: The necessity for judicial intervention has a reason not to supress criticism but to safeguard integrity of national curriculum.
CJI: It seems the expressions in the book may not be a inadvertent bonafide error. We may however hasten to add that we do not propose to initiate the suo motu case to stifle any legitimate critics or to bring to task any organisation exercising the right to scrutinise public institutions.
CJI: The narrative contained in the book is not to delve into any transformative initiative measures pioneered by this court.
The silence is particularly egregious given the volume of high ranking officials who have been censored by this court
CJI: The text fails to acknowledge the imperative role of judiciary which it taken in upholding constitutional morality and basic structure doctrine
CJI: This would, if allowed to go unchecked, will erode the sanctity of judiciary and estimation of public at large and impressional minds of youth
CJI: It seems to us that there is a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary
CJI: Instead of carrying out an introspection on what had been written in most contemptuous and reckless manner
CJI: In the wake of the publication of the book and article in the Indian Express newspaper on February 24, 2026, the secretary general of this court was asked to verify whether such a publication of released by the NCERT
CJI: The publication is titled role of judiciary in our society it incorporates a sub topic Explicitly expounding- "corruption in the judiciary". The inclusion of the subject matter within the foundation curriculum, in our opinion, warrants a rigorous review of its pedagogical suitability and its potential.... We are reluctant to reproduce the contents of the chapter but it very prominently refers to hundreds of complaints received against the judiciary, clearly indicating no action was taken picking up a few statements of former CJI suggesting the judiciary itself has acknowledged lack of transparency, accountability against the institution. Article further declares people experience corruption of various level in judiciary
CJI: The framers of our constitution were profoundly conscious and took abundant caution to ensure that constitutional responsibilities were inscribed with such precision that the three pillars remain capable of operating with respective autonomy while functioning and preserve the democratic fabric of our nation. By acknowledging constitutionally described demarcations we were nearly shocked when a leading newspaper published an article regarding release of the social science textbook for grade 8 (part II) titled exploring society India and Beyond published in February 2026 by NCERT
Bench begins to dictate order
CJI: We would like to have a deeper probe. It’s my duty to find out who is the person behind it. Heads much roll
CJI: We will pass directions to take down
SGI Mehta: We have statutory powers to takedown
J Bagchi: Excerpts are in digital domains. Government should pass takedown orders for excerpts which seem absolutely lopsided. Judiciary is protector of Constitution , which is not shown
Sibal: What about politicians, bureaucrats, ministers. This is in PDF form circulated throughout
CJI: Entire teaching community is told when Indian judiciary is corrupt.. a teacher has to do homework before teaching. Then parents will study.. Deep rooted, well orchestrated conspiracy
SGI Mehta: 36 books being withdrawn. Entire chapter will be revisited by team
CJI: We won’t be emotionally swayed. we have to perform our duty. When there is mounting attack, we know how to perform our duty
Advocate Vikas Singh: Former director of NCERT is justifying it
SGI Mehta: Our head hangs in shame
CJI: They have fired gunshot, judiciary is bleeding today
CJI: Deep rooted conspiracy
CJI: The manner in which this director has attempted to compound… It was our institutional duty to find out because we didn't We didn’t want to say that only based on a newspaper, a very responsible newspaper had published it still i asked the secretary general to find out
SGI Mehta: Unconditional apology. We have published a apology
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, AM Singhvi, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta all in front row
Bench assembles
The suo motu case will be taken up first before any other matter for hearing today.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi will hear the matter shortly.
Sources in the Education Ministry confirmed that the book was pulled out of sale on Tuesday. On Wednesday, staff at the publication division book counter at the NCERT campus in Delhi said the book, which was being sold on Monday, was no longer available.
The book ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’ Part 2 was released on Monday, and the section on “corruption in the judiciary” is part of a chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society”.
After senior advocates A M Singhvi and Kapil Sibal raised the issue before the bench yesterday the CJI said he “will not allow anyone on earth to play with the integrity and to defame the institution”.
On February 25 the Supreme Court registered a suo motu case over the new Social Science textbook for Class 8 by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) which includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”.
