Supreme Court Closes Ncert ‘Bias’ Case After Revised Class VIII Textbook Rollout
02 September 2026 | The Telegraph
The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the suo motu proceedings it had initiated in February over a controversial chapter in an NCERT Class VIII social science textbook in which certain inferences were sought to be drawn about alleged corruption in the judiciary.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant closed the proceedings based on the revised curriculum framed by an expert committee constituted by the Centre against the backdrop of the criticism the chapter had generated among the legal fraternity over the possibility of projecting a biased and unfair image of the judiciary. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta told the bench that the NCERT has begun circulating revised textbooks.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed the suo motu proceedings it had initiated in February over a controversial chapter in an NCERT Class VIII social science textbook in which certain inferences were sought to be drawn about alleged corruption in the judiciary.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant closed the proceedings based on the revised curriculum framed by an expert committee constituted by the Centre against the backdrop of the criticism the chapter had generated among the legal fraternity over the possibility of projecting a biased and unfair image of the judiciary. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta told the bench that the NCERT has begun circulating revised textbooks.
On February 25, the Supreme Court had come down heavily on the NCERT over the introduction of a chapter — “Corruption in Judiciary” — for Class VIII students, as a CJI-led bench termed it a “calculated move” and asserted that the “law will take its
own course”.
On February 24, the NCERT made a hasty retreat and withdrew the books from circulation. All 82,450 copies had been withdrawn, the government had told the top court.