Touch Me Not — Is The NCERT Matter An Opportunity for The Court to Question Alleged Executive Interference in Curriculums?
Shalom Gauri | 16 March 2026 | Supreme Court Observer
On Wednesday, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant blacklisted the authors of a chapter on the judiciary in NCERT’s Class 8 Social Sciences textbook. On 26 February, the Bench had banned the dissemination and further publication of the textbook after taking objection to a portion on “Corruption in the Judiciary”. The Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter following newspaper reports about the textbook which cited ‘corruption’ and ‘backlog of cases’ as the primary challenges facing the judiciary. The Bar too had urged the Court to intervene
Following backlash, the NCERT issued a statement to emphasise its “highest esteem” for the judiciary and informed its decision to have the chapter rewritten. The next day, a show-cause notice was sent to NCERT Director D.P. Saklani by the Court. After learning of the authors from Saklani, the Bench directed governments and public-funded institutions to refrain from employing them…