Royal descendants, citizens move Bombay High Court against NCERT’s ‘removal’ of Maratha empire map

They claimed the decision was taken “without examining historical records or completing the high-powered committee’s (HPC) mandated review”. They added that it responded to political pressure rather than objective historiography. This infringed on petitioners’ and millions of citizens’ rights to accurate education, cultural identity, historical truth, and equality before the law, the plea stated.

It sought the quashing of the decision and restoration of the Maratha empire map and associated historical content in the NCERT textbooks.

The plea stated that NCERT published its revised textbook in July 2025 as part of its updated National Curriculum Framework. The textbook, as per the plea, contained a map depicting the extent of the Maratha Empire as of 1759 CE.

The plea stated that the map showed the Maratha Empire “stretching from Thanjavur in the south to Peshawar in the north, and from Cuttack (Odisha) in the east to large portions of Rajputana, including Jaisalmer, Mewar (Udaipur), and Bundi in the west.”

A member of the Jaisalmer royal family also objected to a map depicting Jaisalmer as part of the Maratha empire, calling it “historically misleading.”

NCERT move

NCERT later clarified that the map included areas under direct Maratha control, as well as tributary states and regions under temporary agreements or influence. The clarification stated that the disclaimer about approximate borders (present in the Class 7 textbook) should also have been included in Class 8.

On August 11, 2025, NCERT formed a high-powered committee of experts in response to protests from Rajasthan’s royal families and politicians. As per the PIL, in its first meeting that month, it acknowledged the matter was “controversial and complex”. It added that in September 2025, Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale, a panel member, passed away, leaving the committee incomplete.

The petitioners claimed the panel continued proceedings without filling Mehendale’s vacancy with a history specialist and decided to remove or withdraw the map from the Hindi edition “without examining a single historical record.”

Between October last year and April 2026, the PIL claimed, NCERT “quietly and without any public announcement” removed the map from all editions, and in March 2026, the Maharashtra Government wrote to the Centre seeking restoration of the map.

The petitioners also filed an RTI seeking detailed information on the map’s removal. They had raised “serious objections on the legality of the decision” by filing complaints with the respondent authorities before approaching the Bombay High Court.