New Delhi: The Supreme Court has disposed of and closed its suo motu proceedings concerning a Grade 8 Social Science textbook published by the NCERT, which had contained a chapter titled "Corruption in the Judiciary," after recording that NCERT and the Union Government's unconditional apologies, the recall of the offending publication, and a revised and balanced chapter finalized by an expert committee had substantially achieved the object of the proceedings.
A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing the matter, which had originated from a report published on 24.02.2026 in The Indian Express concerning Chapter 4, "The Role of the Judiciary in our Society," of the textbook "Exploring Society: India and Beyond," containing a sub-topic titled "Corruption in the Judiciary" with no corresponding reference to the judiciary's constitutional role or reformative measures.
The Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue on 26.02.2026, observing that allowing the chapter to remain in circulation and be taught to students at an impressionable age risked eroding public faith in the judicial institution, while clarifying that the intervention was not intended to stifle legitimate criticism of the judiciary. It had directed the seizure and withdrawal of all copies of the book, banned further publication or digital dissemination, and issued notice to the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, and to the Director, NCERT, Professor (Dr.) Dinesh Prasad Saklani, directing disclosure of the composition of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) and the Textbook Development Team responsible for the chapter.
In compliance, the Director, NCERT filed an affidavit tendering an unconditional and unqualified apology on his own behalf and on behalf of NCERT, and it was brought on record that the Government of India had directed recall of 82,440 copies of the textbook already in circulation. A separate unconditional apology was tendered by the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, along with an assurance that systemic corrective steps had been set into motion.
The Government of India thereafter constituted a three-member Committee comprising Justice (Retd.) Indu Malhotra, Shri K.K. Venugopal, Senior Advocate and former Attorney General, and Professor Prakash Singh, to collaborate with the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, in finalizing the curriculum on legal studies for Class VIII and other grades. The NSTC was also reconstituted into a twenty-member High-Powered Committee chaired by Shri M.C. Pant with Professor Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University as Co-Chairperson. During the hearings, the Solicitor General also drew the Court's attention to other objectionable content, including cartoons, in other NCERT publications, which was directed to be placed before the Expert Committee for review.
Having perused the Committee's report and the revised chapter, the Court found that it presented “an objective, factually accurate and balanced account of the Judiciary,” and noted that the revised text was already in classroom use. In view of the apologies tendered, the recall of the offending publication, the reconstitution of the NSTC, and the satisfactory completion of the review resulting in a revised and balanced text, the Court held that the object of the suo motu proceedings stood substantially achieved and discharged the show-cause notices issued to the Secretary and the Director, NCERT, while directing that the Union, NCERT and concerned authorities remain bound by their assurances regarding vetting of educational material relating to public institutions in future editions and curricula.
The Court placed on record its appreciation for the work of the Expert Committee and the reconstituted NSTC, and reiterated that the judiciary is not averse to fair, informed and constructive criticism, which remains a legitimate feature of a vibrant constitutional democracy the distinction, the Court observed, lying not between criticism and silence, but between responsible discourse and uninformed assertion finding its way, unverified, into a school curriculum for impressionable minds.
The suo motu writ petition was accordingly disposed of and closed, with all pending applications, including I.A. No. 261029/2026 seeking clarification of an earlier order, disposed of in the above terms.
Case Title: In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade-8 (Part-2) Published by NCERT and Ancillary Issues, Suo Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1 of 2026
