Exclusive: NCERT pulls out new Class 8 Social Science textbook after row over section on ‘corruption in judiciary’

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has stopped the sale of its new Class 8 Social Science textbook after The Indian Express reported Tuesday that it included a section on “corruption in the judiciary”, triggering strong criticism from the Supreme Court Bar and Bench. 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 matter was raised in the Supreme Court on Wednesday by senior advocates A M Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant taking serious exception to the section in question and saying he “will not allow anyone to defame the institution”. The apex court also registered a suo motu case in the matter. In a statement issued late Wednesday, the NCERT expressed regret for the “inclusion of inappropriate material” in the textbook and said these portions would be “rewritten”. It also said that the “error” was “purely unintentional”, it holds the judiciary in the “highest esteem” and there was “no intent” to “diminish the authority of any constitutional body”. “As part of its continuous review process, NCERT remains open to constructive feedback. And hence, the same shall be rewritten, with consultation of the appropriate authority, as necessary, and would be available to students of class 8 accordingly on the commencement of the academic session 2026-27,” the NCERT said. It stated that “certain inappropriate textual material and error of judgement have inadvertently crept into Chapter No 4, entitled ‘The Role of the Judiciary in our Society’”. “The Department of School Education and Literacy (Ministry of Education) also made a similar observation and directed that the distribution of this book may be kept on strict hold until further orders. The NCERT holds the judiciary in highest esteem and considers it to be the upholder of the Indian Constitution and protector of Fundamental Rights. The aforesaid error is purely unintentional and NCERT regrets the inclusion of inappropriate material in the said chapter,” the statement added. The book — ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’ Part 2 — was released on Monday. A day later, The Indian Express reported that the chapter on ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’, featured a section on challenges faced by the judicial system, listing “corruption” and “massive backlog…on account of multiple reasons, such as a lack of an adequate number of judges, complicated legal procedures, and poor infrastructure”. The section stated that the judiciary’s internal mechanism to maintain accountability includes an “established procedure for receiving complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)”, with over 1,600 such complaints received between 2017 and 2021. “In cases where the allegations are serious, the Parliament can take action and remove a judge by passing a motion of impeachment. Such a motion is considered only after a proper inquiry, during which the judge is given a fair opportunity to present their side of the case,” it stated. Yet, it stated, “people do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary”. “Hence, efforts are constantly being made at the state and Union levels to build faith and increase transparency in the judicial system, including through the use of technology, and to take swift and decisive action against instances of corruption wherever they may arise,” it said. The chapter on the judiciary in the old Political Science book for Class 8 described the role of the judiciary, what an independent judiciary is, the structure of the courts, and access to them but did not mention corruption. The NCERT statement added that “the objective of the new textbooks is to strengthen constitutional literacy, institutional respect, and informed understanding of democratic participation amongst students”. “There is no intent to question or diminish the authority of any constitutional body,” it stated.