The National Council of Educational Research and Training on Tuesday issued an unconditional and unqualified apology for Chapter IV of its now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook โ titled ‘The Role of Judiciary in Our Society’ โ and confirmed that the entire book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond Grade 8 (Part II), has been fully withdrawn and is no longer available in either physical or digital form.
The timeline of the controversy has been remarkably swift. NCERT released Part 2 of the textbook on February 23, containing a section on judicial corruption. Within 24 hours โ after just 32 copies had been sold โ the book was withdrawn on February 24. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter on February 25, and on February 26 ordered the immediate seizure of all physical copies and the takedown of all digital versions, while issuing show-cause notices to the NCERT Director and the School Education Department Secretary asking why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
The Supreme Court said it was “shocked” upon reading reports about the chapter’s content. The court’s primary objection was that the chapter, while purporting to discuss the judiciary’s role in society, prominently highlighted complaints against judges and suggested institutional inaction โ without adequately covering the judiciary’s role in upholding constitutional morality, the basic structure doctrine, legal aid, and access to justice. On prima facie examination, the court found that the content, read alongside the NCERT Director’s initial administrative response defending it, indicated “a calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary.”
The court warned that exposing students “in their formative years” to a “biased narrative” could engender permanent misconceptions, and said the conduct may fall within the definition of criminal contempt as it appeared to scandalise the institution and interfere with the administration of justice. It clarified, however, that the proceedings were not intended to “stifle any legitimate critique” of the judiciary.
Tuesday’s apology โ issued a day before the next scheduled court hearing on March 11 โ went further than NCERT’s earlier statement of February 25, in which it had apologised for “inappropriate content” and promised a rewrite. “The Director and Members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said Chapter IV,” the council stated, adding that it “remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, sensitivity, and responsibility in educational content.”