Today, on 26th February, the Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban on the NCERT textbook on judicial corruption, issued notice to the NCERT Director, stated “It is a calculated move… This is a deep rooted conspiracy!” and sought details of the National Syllabi Board members.
The Supreme Court strongly criticised the new Class 8 Social Science textbook released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) after discovering a section titled “corruption in judiciary.”
The Court said the content appeared to be a calculated attempt to damage the credibility of the Indian judiciary and ordered an immediate nationwide recall of the book from both physical and online platforms.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opened the hearing by telling the bench led by CJI Surya Kant,
“In the suo motu case, at the outset we tender an unconditional apology.”
However, CJI Surya Kant immediately responded,
“Our friends in media sent this notice. There is no word of apology in this.”
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh added,
“This is deliberate.”
CJI Kant then remarked,
“It is our institutional duty to find out if it was published in the book or not… in the communication to the registrar general the authority was defending. This was a deep rooted conspiracy.”
SG Mehta further submitted,
“The two individuals who prepared the two chapters will never work with UGC or any ministry.”
But CJI Kant disagreed,
“That will be very easy then and they go scotfree… they fired the gunshot judiciary is bleeding today!”
He added,
“When there is a mounting attack on us we know how we maintain balance. These copies are there in the market.”
SG Mehta explained,
“32 books went to the market and has been withdrawn. The entire book will be revisited. There is another part on case pendency and it says justice denied.”
CJI responded strongly,
“It is a calculated move. The entire teaching community will be told is that Indian judiciary is corrupt and cases are pending… then students and then parents. This is a deep rooted conspiracy!”
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said,
“This is very selective.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal added,
“What about politicians and leaders. this book is in the pdf format.”
Justice Bagchi noted,
“Some material is in digital domain and the view is extremely lopsided and no view on judiciary is a protector of fundamental fights… legal aid etc. Take down orders also has to be issued.”
AM Singhvi again stressed,
“The online circulation is much more than hard copies.”
The CJI made it clear,
“We would like to have a deeper probe. we need to find who is responsible and we will see who are there. Heads must roll! We will not close the case.”
Kapil Sibal added,
“Board members confirmed this.”
SG Mehta assured,
“We stand by the institution. No one will get away scot free.”
Reading out the order, CJI Surya Kant said the framers of the Constitution ensured that every constitutional body legislature, judiciary and executive must function independently to preserve democratic values. He described the Court’s shock when a leading newspaper reported the NCERT book’s content.
CJI Kant explained,
“A portion is titled ‘role of judiciary in our society’ and it states ‘corruption in the judiciary’, the inclusion of this within a foundational curriculum in our considered opinion warrants a rigorous review…”
He noted that the chapter wrongly suggested that hundreds of complaints against judges were ignored and that judiciary itself had admitted lack of transparency.
He further said,
“It seems to us that there is a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary.”
The Court observed that the chapter completely ignored the Supreme Court’s historic role in protecting democracy, including the basic structure doctrine and the expansion of legal aid.
CJI condemned the omission,
“The silence particularly is egregious since so many high ranking officers have been held by this court for corruption, misuse of public office or diversion of funds.”
He clarified that the Court does not want to suppress criticism,
“We hasten to add that we do not propose the Suo motu proceedings to stifle any legitimate critique…”
But the Court stressed the danger of misleading schoolchildren,
“It is improper to expose them to biased narrative at this kind of age which lead to fundamental misconceptions…”
He emphasised that harmful narratives quickly spread,
“The subject book shall not be confined to students only and the contents are bound to travel from teacher to students to parents, the society and the next generation.”
He warned that such actions may amount to criminal contempt,
“Such a misconduct will fall within the purview of criminal contempt… if proved to be deliberate move…”
The Court took note of NCERT’s public apology, but added,
“Whether the apology has been tendered genuinely or… merely a way to wriggle out… is a question we will consider.”
Supreme Court Issues Show Cause Notice, Orders Blanket Ban
CJI Surya Kant announced strict directions:
- Show-cause notice to the Secretary, Department of School Education and Dr. Dinesh Prasad.
- All physical and digital copies of the book must be removed.
- NCERT must seize every circulated copy.
- Schools must stop using the textbook immediately.
- State education departments must submit compliance reports within two weeks.
- A blanket ban imposed on the book’s production and distribution.
- NCERT must submit the names and credentials of those who authored the disputed chapter.
- Minutes of meetings where the chapter was approved must be produced.
SG Mehta assured,
“We will ensure that an unconditional apology is also published.”
The Court will review all reports in four weeks.
CJI noted,
“I have got hundreds and hundreds of calls… they urged me to take action…”
The bench thanked the media for reporting the issue,
” We are thankful to the media.. they highlighted this.”
SG Mehta said,
“Mainstream media is always responsible… there are tabloids and virtual platforms whose main idea is to blackmail etc.”
As reported by media the textbook contains a section devoted to“corruption in the judiciary” within a chapter discussing“The role of the judiciary in our society.”
This chapter outlines various forms of judicial corruption and mentions significant challenges faced by the judicial system, such as a backlog of cases due to insufficient judges, complex legal procedures, and inadequate infrastructure.
The book reportedly includes a segment titled “corruption in the judiciary” within a chapter focused on “The role of the judiciary in our society.”
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal raised the matter before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Wednesday, during which the Court acknowledged that it is also aware of the issue.
In the meantime, the NCERT issued a press release attributing the controversial section of the textbook to an unintentional error in judgment, stating that it will withdraw this part and revise it with the appropriate consultations.
NCERT stands for National Council of Educational Research and Training. It is an autonomous organisation under the Government of India that designs and publishes school textbooks, especially for CBSE schools.
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