The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday issued a public apology for including a chapter on judicial corruption and said the entire textbook has been withdrawn.
The social science textbook for Class 8 stated that corruption, a massive backlog of cases and the lack of an adequate number of judges are among the challenges faced by the judicial system, which in-turn drew the Supreme Court's ire.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NCERT said, "The National Council of Educational Research and Training has recently published a social science textbook, 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond' Grade 8 (Part 2), which contained Chapter 4 titled 'The Role of Judiciary in our Society'."
"The director and members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said chapter four. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available," it added.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲
— NCERT (@ncert) March 10, 2026
The National Council of Educational Research and Training [NCERT] has recently published a social science textbook, “Exploring Society: India and Beyond," Grade 8 (Part II), which contained Chapter IV titled “The Role of… pic.twitter.com/mZY15aJTDo
ALSO READ: SC Bans NCERT Book For Offending Judiciary, Orders Seizure Of Copies
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, took suo motu cognisance of 'objectionable' remarks about the judiciary in NCERT textbooks after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, joined by Abhishek Singhvi, urgently raised the issue before the court.
CJI Kant sharply criticised a Class 8 NCERT chapter discussing judicial corruption, asserting that no one would be permitted to defame the judiciary or undermine its integrity.
The Supreme Court then issued a 'complete blanket ban' on the publication, reprinting, or digital circulation of the NCERT Class 8 social science textbook containing the 'offending' material, remarking that “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding."
The government expressed distress over the inclusion of the disputed content, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured the court that accountability would be fixed and action taken against those responsible for drafting the chapter.
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