Everything you need to know about the NCERT textbook row and SC ban

THe sublime margaret court on th ordered the quick ictus of physical copies and takedown of digital versions of a controversial Class 8 social science textbook carrying a section on “corruption in the judiciary.”What happened?The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released the Class 8 Social Science Part 1 textbook in July 2025 and Part 2, containing a section on “judicial corruption,” on Monday (February 23, 2026). Both books were meant for the academic session 2025–26, but the first part was released in July 2025, three months after the commencement of the 2025–26 academic session. The now-withdrawn second part was released just a month before the completion of the 2025–26 session.Part 2 was withdrawn from sale at the NCERT bookstore counter on January 24 (Tuesday), hours after 32 copies were sold. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter on February 25 (Wednesday) morning, and by night, NCERT, in a statement, apologised for the “inappropriate content” in the chapter titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society” and said it would be rewritten in consultation with appropriate authorities.On February 26 (Thursday), the Supreme Court ordered a blanket ban on the book and directed the Union government to take action to stop dissemination of the book in digital and physical form. The government informed the court that 32 copies had been sold and “they are being withdrawn.” The apex court also issued show-cause notices to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director and the secretary, department of school education, asking why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.The Ministry of Education wrote to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to take immediate action in compliance with the apex court’s order and furnish an action taken report by February 27, 2026 (Friday), so that a compliance affidavit could be placed on record before the court.The court directed that action must be taken against those involved in writing the book. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has promised action.How are NCERT books developed?Though Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehra assured the court that action would be taken and that individuals who prepared the chapter “would never be associated with any activity of this ministry in the future,” and Pradhan stated that the government would conduct an inquiry, fix accountability, and take action against those involved in drafting the disputed content, people familiar with the development process said NCERT textbook preparation follows a collective, multi-stage process with “no single author responsible for individual chapters.”For each subject, a Curricular Area Group (CAG) is constituted, which sets up a textbook development team to draft the chapters. Initial drafts may be written by contributors (academics) or invited subject experts and are then reviewed at multiple levels — by the development team, external experts, teachers, the full CAG, NCERT faculty, and finally the National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC).The controversial chapter mentioning corruption in the judiciary in the Class 8 NCERT Social Science Part 2 textbook was written by a committee of members, which included a lawyer, but was not reviewed by anyone from the legal fraternity, officials aware of the matter told HT on Thursday.“These contents included in the new book are in line with the new pedagogy, as mandated by the NEP 2020, which asks students to investigate, explore, and respond to complex questions, real-world challenges, and problems,” said people familiar with the development.Is corruption mentioned only in the Judiciary?No. Officials cited above also pointed out that the previous Class 8 Social Science textbook — which was in use until 2024 — did not mention corruption at all.Corruption appears in both the new Class 7 and Class 8 textbooks — both of which have two parts each. HT has seen copies of the textbooks. These textbooks mention “corruption in public offices,” the legislature, and during the election process — but not in the judiciary. They discuss corruption across institutions, noting that vigilance commissions can be approached in cases of wrongdoing. The textbooks explain that elected members can be removed if found indulging in “corruption” and flag broader democratic challenges such as “wealth disparity,” “erosion of the judiciary’s independence,” and manipulation of information. They ask students why, despite robust systems, “we still hear of cases of bribery and corruption in public office.”The Class 8 Social Science Part 1, released in July 2025, also highlights political corruption, including money power in elections and candidates with criminal records.Is It the First Time an NCERT Book Has Landed in Court?No, but the current judicial scrutiny of NCERT textbooks by the apex court is unprecedented.One of the most significant instances of judicial intervention related to NCERT textbooks was in 2002–03, when the curriculum changes introduced under the NDA government were challenged before the Supreme Court of India. In Aruna Roy v. Union of India (2002), petitioners alleged that the new NCERT curriculum promoted “saffronisation” and violated secular principles. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the validity of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2000 and allowed the revised textbooks to be used.An NCERT official said the NCERT book has not been “banned” before, though many have been withdrawn or sections have been deleted following various controversies.In 1978, the Janata Party government withdrew R.S. Sharma’s Ancient India from the CBSE syllabus, citing objections that the book’s Marxist interpretation of history and references such as beef-eating in ancient India hurt religious sentiments and were “anti-national.” In 2002–03, under the NDA government, newly introduced history textbooks were accused of “saffronisation” for promoting a Hindu nationalist perspective and downplaying medieval Muslim rulers. In 2004, the incoming UPA government reversed these changes by scrapping the books, appointing review committees of historians, and developing new texts under the National Curriculum Framework 2005.In 2012, a cartoon in the Class 11 political science textbook Indian Constitution at Work, depicting B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru, led to protests, following which NCERT advisors Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar resigned and several cartoons were deleted from the book.Between 2022 and 2024, the “rationalisation” of NCERT books resulted in the removal of chapters on the Mughal Empire, references to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and portions related to social movements and environmental issues.Academics vs JudiciaryWhile both the bar and bench of the legal fraternity criticised NCERT’s new book, with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant saying there “appears to be a deep-rooted, well-planned conspiracy to defame the judiciary,” a section of academicians denied the charge.Former NCERT director J.S. Rajput said that the controversy “dented” the council’s image. “The new textbooks do mention corruption in the executive and legislature, and students should learn about such issues to become informed citizens. Many in the legal fraternity may not have read the books fully. Given time, NCERT could have shown in court that the judiciary was not being singled out,” he told HT.He told ANI that NCERT amends its books every year as per the suggestions that come in. “We are all human, and to err is human. The Supreme Court too makes mistakes. When a person is acquitted after 15 years and it is said that they are innocent, imagine what that individual would feel. But nobody is taken to task for the incorrect judgment. So why should this happen just with NCERT? What was the reason for such harshness?” he added, saying it pains him to hear the things that were said in court, including words used by the Supreme Court — conspiracy, scandalous — “were not needed at all.”A person familiar with the development process of the new NCERT book said, “These contents were included in the book in line with the new pedagogy, as mandated by the NEP 2020, which asks students to investigate, explore, and respond to complex questions, real-world challenges, and problems.”