New Delhi: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a blanket ban on circulation of a particular chapter in a Class 8 social science textbook issued by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The chapter examines challenges including corruption in the judiciary. The court mandated the immediate seizure of all existing physical copies across the country and the prompt removal of its digital formats from all platforms.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, passed the order in the suo motu case over the book.
The bench directed the central government and all state authorities to implement these directions without delay. It cautioned that any form of non-compliance would invite serious action. Additionally, show-cause notices were issued to the Director of NCERT and the Secretary in the Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education, asking them to justify why proceedings should not be initiated against responsible parties.
“It is my duty to find out who is responsible; heads must roll,” the Chief Justice stated during the hearing, highlighting worries about the material’s influence on how the public, especially students, views the judiciary.
The court characterised the inclusion of the chapter as indicative of a “deep-rooted, well-planned conspiracy” designed to tarnish the judiciary’s reputation and authority. “It seems to us that there is a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary. If allowed to go unchecked, this will erode the sanctity of judicial office in the estimation of the public at large and within the impressionable minds of youth,” the Chief Justice observed, according to reports from Bar and Bench.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tendered an unconditional and unqualified apology on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The bench, however, observed that NCERT’s official response lacked an explicit apology and appeared to rationalise the content’s presence. It signalled readiness to order a thorough investigation to pinpoint those who approved and published the material, ensuring no one involved goes unaccounted for.
The proceedings originated from the court’s suo motu notice taken on the textbook’s content, which had faced criticism for portraying judicial institutions in a manner deemed potentially misleading for young readers. The chapter detailed persistent issues such as a massive backlog—approximately 81,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court, 62.40 lakh in high courts, and 4.70 crore in district and subordinate courts—alongside shortages of judges and instances of corruption. It also referred to the judiciary’s internal accountability systems and the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) as avenues for complaints, with more than 1,600 such grievances logged between 2017 and 2021.
The text further included a statement from former Chief Justice B R Gavai, delivered in July 2025: “Instances of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary had adversely affected public confidence. However, the path to rebuilding this trust lies in the swift, decisive and transparent action taken to address and resolve these issues… Transparency and accountability are democratic virtues.”
