NCERT publishes revised Class 8 Social Science textbook, rewrites controversial chapter on judiciary

Months after sparking controversy for allegedly insulting the judiciary, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released the revised Class 8 Social Science textbook by removing controversial portions.

While new material on public interest litigation (PIL), courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms has been added to the revised textbook, controversial sections have been removed along with references to judicial knowledge and two important court decisions.

Removed parts

A change was also seen in the opening “Big Questions” section at the beginning of the episode. Rather than asking students why an independent judiciary is necessary, as in the withdrawn textbook, the revised chapter asks why justice is important for a “just and harmonious society.”

The “Challenges Facing the Judicial System” section, which detailed the “massive backlog” of cases and blamed it on a lack of judges, cumbersome procedures and poor infrastructure, has disappeared entirely.

The section titled “Corruption in the Judiciary” was also omitted, stating that former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai had admitted to cases of “corruption and malfeasance” in the judicial system.

In February, a controversy broke out over the inclusion of a chapter titled “Corruption in Judiciary” in NCERT’s Class 8 Social Science textbook.

Following the intervention of the Supreme Court, physical and digital copies of the textbook were withdrawn and NCERT issued an apology.

The high court said that the textbook in question contained “disturbing” content regarding corruption in the judiciary and imposed a “total ban” on any future printing, reprinting or digital distribution of the textbook in question.

The revised textbook states in the acknowledgments section that it has been published pursuant to the review process carried out “in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court of India”. suo motu Writ Petition No. 1/2026 (law)

It is also stated that Chapter 4, titled “Role of the Judiciary in Society”, was “rewritten” by an expert committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Education in line with the directions of the top court in an order dated March 16.

The withdrawn textbook listed 51 members as part of the development team. The revised edition lists 48 people, along with the names of Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar, the three people initially held responsible for the episode, who were removed from the team.