SC modifies 2-month-old order on NCERT row:Centre, states to decide whether ‘Corruption in Judiciary’ chapter writers should be removed

The Supreme Court has changed its two-month-old ruling in the controversy over the “Corruption in the Judiciary” chapter in an NCERT textbook. On March 11, the Supreme Court ordered that the three academics who wrote the controversial section should be removed and not given any further assignments. However, on Friday, while hearing a petition filed by the three educationists, the court revised its order. It said that the Centre, states, universities and government-funded institutions should make their own decision on the matter. The three academics named in the case are Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar. Earlier, the Supreme Court had said that the three had deliberately misrepresented facts and presented the judiciary negatively to students. The court has now withdrawn those remarks. Now know what the entire controversy was about NCERT released a new social science textbook for class 8 students on February 23. This book was to be taught in schools from the academic session 2026-27. Its first part was released in July 2025. The name of the book is ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 2’. In this, the topic ‘Corruption in the Judiciary’ has been added within the chapter ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’. It states that corruption, a large number of pending cases and a severe shortage of judges are among the major challenges facing the judicial system. Judges are bound by a code of conduct, which not only controls their behavior in court, but also determines their conduct outside the court. The title of a section in the book is ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. This means – delay in justice is like not getting justice. Here, the number of pending cases is also mentioned – 81 thousand in the Supreme Court, 62 lakh 40 thousand in High Courts, and 4 crore 70 lakh in District and Subordinate Courts. 24 February: Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance, banned the book The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter. The NCERT’s Class 8 Social Science book containing the chapter ‘Corruption in Judiciary’ has been banned. Chief Justice Suryakant ordered a ban on printing and sale of the book. He also said that the books that have already been printed should be confiscated and digital copies should also be removed. March 9: NCERT Apologizes After CJI’s Rebuke After the Supreme Court’s stern stance, NCERT said on Wednesday night that they have great respect for the judiciary. The mistake in the book was inadvertent and NCERT regrets including incorrect material in that chapter. The chapter will be rewritten. NCERT Book Not Available on Website NCERT’s Class 8 Social Science Part 2 was released this week. After the CJI’s remarks, this book is not available on NCERT’s website. According to a news report, offline sales of the books have also been stopped since Tuesday, February 24. However, no official statement has been issued by NCERT regarding this so far. The second part of the book is not present in the list on NCERT’s website. NCERT has prepared new books for all classes under the National Curriculum Framework i.e. NCF and NEP-2020. After the Corona pandemic, old topics in books are being changed and new topics are being added to the books. New books from class 1st to 8th have already been published in 2025. ​