???? NCERT Apologises After Supreme Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Over ‘Corruption in Judiciary’ Section in Class 8 Textbook; Distribution Halted, Content to Be Rewritten for 2026–27 Academic Session
In a significant development, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has apologised for including a section on “corruption in the judiciary” in its newly published Class 8 Social Science textbook. The controversy escalated after the Supreme Court of India took suo motu cognisance of the matter on February 25, 2026, terming the reference as “selective”. Following directions from the Department of School Education and Literacy, the distribution of the textbook has been put on strict hold until further orders. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, is scheduled to hear the case titled “In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade-8 (Part 2) published by NCERT and ancillary issues” on February 26 at 10:30 a.m.
indianewsreport 
NCERT apologises, says distribution of book with section on
‘corruption’ in judiciary stopped
After the Supreme court registers suo motu case over the matter, the NCERT apologises for the ‘inappropriate textual material’ and ‘error in judgement’ that had ‘inadvertently crept’ into the chapter.
Published - February 26, 2026 12:52 am IST - New Delhi
NCERT. File picture
Hours after the Supreme Court of India registered a suo motu case on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) over the inclusion of a section on “corruption” in the judiciary in the NCERT’s newest Social Science textbook for Class 8, the National Council for Educational Research and Training issued a statement apologising for the “inappropriate textual material” and “error in judgement” that had “inadvertently crept” into the chapter in question.
The chapter ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’ in the Class 8 Social Science book prescribed by NCERT mentions that corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and a lack of adequate number of judges were among the “challenges” faced by the judicial system. The section on “corruption in the judiciary” in the book states that judges were bound by a code of conduct that governed not only their behaviour in court but also how they conducted themselves outside of it.
In its statement, the NCERT said the textbook was brought out “as per extant procedure”, adding that the “inappropriate textual material” and “error in judgement” had been “observed” “on receiving the textbook”. It said that the Department of School Education also made similar observations.
Government officials said the direction to stop the distribution of the book was issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy on February 24 (Tuesday). In the statement, the NCERT said the directions “had been complied with”.
The NCERT said that the objective of the new textbook is to “strengthen constitutional literacy, institutional respect, and informed understanding of democratic participation amongst students”, adding that “there is no intent to question or diminish the authority of any constitutional body”.
It said that since NCERT remains “open to constructive feedback” as “part of its continuous review process”, the material in question “shall be re-written, with consultation of the appropriate authority, as necessary, and would be made available to students of Class 8 accordingly on the commencement of academic session 2026-27”.
The NCERT reiterated its “resolve to continuously work for institutional sanctity and respect”.
