NCERT’s apology: ‘Judicial corruption’ Chapter banned, decision changed at midnight after CJI’s rebuke

NCERT apology Supreme Court: The uproar over NCERT’s new Social Science book for Class 8 has now reached the point of an apology. Chief Justice Surya Kant accused the institution of ‘defaming the institution’ After reporting the attempt and issuing a strong rebuke, NCERT issued a statement at midnight condemning ‘judicial corruption’ That chapter has been banned.

After seeing the strict attitude of the Supreme Court, NCERT has taken a big U-turn regarding a controversial chapter of the new book of Class 8 Social Science. CJI Surya Kant’s bench accused him of ‘defaming the institution’ Following the comments and severe rebuke, the organization issued an official statement at midnight expressing regret and apology. NCERT has admitted that they unknowingly introduced ‘inappropriate course material’ And an error of judgment was involved. The institution also clarified that such mistake will not be repeated in future and revised books will be provided to the students.

Why was Chief Justice Surya Kant angry?

During the hearing on Wednesday, CJI Surya Kant had expressed sharp reaction to this text material. He called it a ‘matter of grave concern’ Stating that suo motu cognizance was taken of the matter. The CJI said in clear words, ‘I will not allow anyone to defame the institution (judiciary). I know how to deal with it. This appears to be a deliberate action and the law will take its course. The effect of this rebuke was that the School Education and Literacy Department of the Ministry of Education immediately intervened and gave instructions to stop the distribution of the book till further orders.

The bone of contention: ‘corruption in the judiciary’ section with

The controversy started with the new book ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Vol II’ released on 24 February 2026. In its fourth chapter, titled ‘Role of Judiciary in our Society’ (page no. 125-142), the challenges faced by the judiciary were mentioned. In the section ‘Corruption in the Judiciary’ of the book, it was written that people face corruption at various levels of the judiciary, which makes access to justice even more difficult for the poor and the underprivileged. The textbook also said that the heavy burden of pending cases and shortage of judges are major challenges of the system.

Rage over statistics and quotes of former CJI

The book not only talked about corruption but also presented scary figures. It was told that the number of cases pending in the Supreme Court is 81,000, 62.40 lakh cases are pending in the High Courts and 4.70 crore cases are pending in the District and Subordinate Courts. Additionally, there was also mention of more than 1,600 complaints received between 2017 and 2021 through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
The textbook features former Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai’s July 2025 statement was also quoted, in which he had said that incidents of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary have a negative impact on public trust.

Chapter will be rewritten, preparation for new session

NCERT has now made it clear in its statement that its intention was not to diminish the dignity of any constitutional institution. The organization has said that it has great respect for the judiciary and considers it the protector of the Indian Constitution. Now this entire chapter will be rewritten with the advice of the competent authorities.

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NCERT has assured that the revised and corrected books will be made available to the students at the beginning of the academic session 2026-27. At present, there is a complete ban on the sale and distribution of books as per the instructions of the Ministry of Education.