PM orders accountability over NCERT judiciary ‘corruption’ content; Education Minister vows action

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told officials to fix accountability regarding the chapter of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Class 8 Social Science textbook on “corruption” in the judiciary. According to information obtained from government sources, the Prime Minister ordered the issue to be examined in detail and accountability to be improved.

Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday (February 26, 2026) said that the government will conduct an investigation into the matter and added that accountability for the same will be rectified and action will be taken against the responsible officials.

It has also written to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information and Publishing (I&B) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to stop the dissemination of the controversial textbook through digital platforms and media.

The chapter in question in the new Social Sciences textbook has sparked outrage even as a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed a verdict this week. suo motu NCERT withdrew the textbook from distribution within a day of its publication, calling it a “selective reference”.

Hours after the Supreme Court of India took up the case, NCERT issued a statement apologizing and regretting the “inappropriate textual material” and “error of judgment” that had “leaked” into the department.

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On Thursday, February 25, 2026, while the Supreme Court was hearing the case related to this chapter of the NCERT book, Mr. Pradhan spoke to media persons in Jharkhand and said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and expressed regret for it.

“As soon as we received notice, instructions were given to withdraw the book and stop its distribution. We are highly respectful of the judiciary and had no intention of disrespecting the judiciary,” Mr. Pradhan said.

The Minister of National Education also stated that an investigation will be conducted to determine responsibility for the inclusion of this section in the book, and action will be taken against those responsible.

The chapter ‘Role of Judiciary in Our Society’ in the Class 8 Social Science book prepared by NCERT states that the “challenges” faced by the judicial system include corruption, large backlog of cases and lack of sufficient number of judges. The book’s chapter on “corruption in the judiciary” states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behavior in court, but also how they behave outside the court.

In his statement in Jharkhand, the Education Minister said that the government has taken note of the Supreme Court’s directions and will fully comply with them.

Thursday morning, February 26, 2026, suo motu In the case on the subject, the Supreme Court decided to completely ban the reprinting and digital distribution of the book, to confiscate the books distributed so far and to request a compliance report on this issue.