New Delhi: In a historic first for the national curriculum, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced a section explicitly addressing corruption in the judiciary and the massive backlog of pending cases in its new Class 8 Social Science textbook. This update marks a significant departure from earlier editions, which primarily focused on the structural hierarchy and the independent role of the courts without directly discussing internal systemic challenges.
The revised material is contained in a chapter titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society,” which expands the educational scope to include not only how justice is accessed but also the institutional hurdles that can impede it. By including these topics, the NCERT aims to provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of the pressures currently facing the Indian justice system.
One of the primary challenges highlighted in the new textbook is the extensive backlog of cases across all levels of the Indian judiciary. The book provides students with specific, approximate statistics to illustrate the scale of this issue: about 81,000 pending cases in the Supreme Court of India, approximately 6,240,000 in the various High Courts, and nearly 47,000,000 cases in the district and subordinate courts.
The textbook attributes this massive accumulation of cases to several systemic factors, including a persistent shortage of judges, the complexity of legal procedures, and inadequate physical and digital infrastructure. This move quantifies the scale of judicial delays for students, moving beyond the general principle of “justice delayed is justice denied,” which was mentioned in previous versions of the syllabus.
The section on corruption within the judiciary provides a detailed look at how the system attempts to maintain integrity and accountability. It informs students that judges are bound by a specific code of conduct that regulates their professional behaviour both inside the courtroom and in their personal conduct outside it. Furthermore, the textbook outlines the established internal accountability mechanisms and the formal procedure for citizens to lodge complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). To demonstrate the activity of this system, the book notes that between 2017 and 2021, over 1,600 complaints were recorded through this grievance mechanism.
In addition to administrative grievances, the textbook explains the high-level constitutional provisions for the removal of judges in the event of serious misconduct. It states that if allegations against a judge are grave, Parliament has the authority to intervene and remove the individual by passing a motion of impeachment. This process, the book explains, is initiated only after a thorough inquiry has been conducted, during which the accused judge is afforded a fair opportunity to present their side of the case. By including this, the curriculum provides a clear view of the checks and balances designed to maintain judicial standards at the highest levels.
The textbook also addresses the societal impact of these judicial challenges, specifically noting how corruption can disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. It acknowledges that while institutional mechanisms exist, many people continue to experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary, which can severely worsen access to justice for the poor and disadvantaged. To counter these issues, the book notes that ongoing initiatives at both the State and Union levels are being implemented to strengthen public trust and transparency. These include the increased use of technology in legal processes and a commitment to taking swift action against instances of corruption as they arise.
To reinforce the importance of these reforms, the NCERT quotes former Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai from remarks made in July 2025. Justice Gavai observed that instances of misconduct and corruption within the judiciary inevitably have a negative impact on public confidence and risk eroding faith in the system’s overall integrity. He emphasised that the path to rebuilding this trust lies in decisive and transparent action to resolve such issues, noting that transparency and accountability are fundamental democratic virtues. These remarks are intended to help students understand the judiciary’s own recognition of its challenges and the necessity of maintaining constitutional roles through ethical conduct.
The updated curriculum also integrates contemporary legal case studies to illustrate the judiciary’s role in safeguarding democratic principles, particularly through recent landmark verdicts. One such example included is the electoral bond scheme, which initially allowed anonymous donations to political parties. The textbook explains that the Supreme Court later struck down this provision as unconstitutional, ruling that voters have a fundamental right to know the sources of political funding. This section encourages students to analyse why the judiciary took such a stance and how it relates to the concept of transparency in a democracy.
Another significant legal precedent discussed is the challenge to the Information Technology Act. The book describes how a provision introduced in 2009, which allowed for the penalisation and imprisonment of individuals for social media posts, was contested by a law student in 2015. The Supreme Court subsequently declared the clause unconstitutional, ordering its repeal on the ground that it violated the constitutional right to freedom of expression. By including these real-world legal battles, the NCERT provides students with concrete examples of how an independent judiciary functions as an arbiter of rights and a check on legislative power.
This overhaul of the Class 8 Social Science material forms part of a broader effort by the NCERT to align school education with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The previous set of textbooks was based on the 2005 curriculum framework, which had been in place for nearly two decades and had seen content reductions during the pandemic.
The new books are designed to reflect contemporary challenges and encourage more critical engagement with national institutions. These updates mark the first major revision of the middle school social science syllabus in several years, with the aim of fostering a more informed and legally aware student body.
