India | Blanket Ban by Top Court on Class 8 Text Book Citing Corruption in Judiciary is akin to Concealing Facts from School Children
- Vineet Malik
- Feb 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 28
By Vineet Malik | February 27, 2026 | India
The fiasco encircled by the controversial ban on the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Social Science Text Book by the Top Court alleging conspiracy to defame the Judiciary turns murkier
The Controversy
On Wednesday, followed by some news stories in media that covered the newly issued textbook citing a dedicated chapter on corruption in the judiciary along with grave systemic issues prompted Senior Advocates - Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi to verbally apprise the Supreme Court (SC) bench, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi.
It was not a mere mention before the SC bench by the Senior Advocates but a thoughtful move that eventually led to the interpretation of casting aspersions on the institution by the NCERT.
Taking an ugly turn, the NCERT took down the Text Book meant for Class 8 school children and the SC initiated a probe by issuing a notice against the said autonomous body.
Two Most Pertinent Facts highlighted in the NCERT Books
Fact Number One : Justice Delayed is Justice Denied
Huge Pendency of Cases running into 54 Million + in Indian Courts at different levels from Trial Courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court.
Key Data on Pendency (Early 2026) :
Supreme Court : Continued to rise, reaching 92,828 cases by the end of January 2026, defying previous trends.
Lower Courts : Total pendency is estimated to be over 48 Million cases.
High Courts: Pendency in High Courts is over 6.3 Million cases.
Fact Number Two : Corruption in the Judiciary
When Judges fail to uphold these standards, the judiciary has an internal mechanism to maintain accountability and ensure that Judges follow the values of judicial life.
The Order
The CJI said “SC would not permit any attempt to defame or undermine the integrity of the judiciary. As a head of the judiciary, it is my duty to ensure accountability, heads must roll. I will not close these proceedings until there is some accountability. We want to know who the people behind this are.
Judiciary is bleeding today, amid the fallout.
If you teach the entire teaching community and the students that the judiciary is corrupt - what message will go? Teachers will learn it, parents will learn it.
The controversial chapter highlighted a one-sided view of the judiciary, ignoring its constitutional role and achievements.
We are deeply hurt that there is no mention of the judiciary’s positive work - protection of civil rights, access to justice, free legal aid and safeguarding fundamental rights.
Students must get a balanced picture.
The episode appeared to reflect a calculated move to undermine authority and demean the dignity of the judiciary, warning that such material, if unchecked, could erode public trust, in particular among students.
The choice of words in the book did not appear to be a simple inadvertence or bona fide error.
The court clarified that it did not intend to use the proceedings to stifle legitimate criticism.
The CJI passed an order and directed that all copies of the book containing the chapter be immediately seized.”
Parliamentary Committee Flagged Corruption in Judiciary in 1964
The Parliamentary Committee as far back as 1964 had said “Corruption exists in the lower ranks of the judiciary all over India and in some places, it has spread to the higher ranks also.”
Former CJI S.P Bharucha had conceded that “20 percent of Judges were corrupt” and former CJI P. Sathasivan had said “I should fairly admit that the judiciary is not untouched by corruption.”
Amid 'Corruption In Judiciary' Row, Data Shows 8,600 Complaints In 10 Years
Data presented in the Lok Sabha in February 2026 indicates over 8,600 complaints were filed against sitting judges over the past decade, i.e., from 2016 to 2025.
A Tweet posted by Author Anand Ranganathan on X
About NCERT
NCERT is a New Delhi based autonomous organization that assists central and state governments in improving school education quality. It publishes textbooks for classes 1 to 12, develop curriculum, impart training to teachers and conduct educational research.
Given its accuracy and conceptual clarity, NCERT textbooks are considered foundational and a gateway for several competitive exams to join prestigious careers such as Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Foreign Service.
Views of The Revelation
"Children are driven by curiosity and inquisitiveness, the more they are controlled the more they want to dig deeper and find things.
Instead of putting a blanket ban on the controversial text book, the SC should have ideally opted for a neutral view in a most fair and just manner by giving liberty to the NCERT to incorporate any such positive attributes of the Judiciary along with retention of the facts pertaining to alleged corruption and huge backlog of cases cited in the book.
Transparency is key in any public matter.
This move by the SC will also be discussed by upcoming generations.
In-fact, the NCERT has only touched upon pertinent systemic issues in brevity.
There are many more issues that needs to be urgently addressed by the Judiciary to promote transparency, accountability and public faith. For instance, Roster Allocation Rules, Listing of Cases on priority filed by High and Mighty, Transparency on decisions by Collegium on Judges promotions and transfers, Deferment of Cases despite the rule of law in place, Internal corruption among clerks in all the Courts and more."
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