The Supreme Court directed the Centre and states to disassociate Professor Michel Danino and two associates from all publicly funded curriculum projects, finding they either lacked knowledge of the judiciary or deliberately misrepresented facts in a Class 8 textbook chapter.
THE Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 11) expressed its displeasure with the National Council of Educational Research and Training for rewriting a controversial chapter on judicial corruption without disclosing the experts involved, and directed the Centre and all state governments to disassociate from the three persons who drafted the original content.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi was hearing a suo motu case concerning the Class 8 social science textbook titled “Exploring Society: India and Beyond”, which contained a chapter referring to corruption at various levels of the judiciary.
The Court had imposed a blanket ban on the publication on 26th February after taking cognisance of an Indian Express report highlighting the chapter’s contents.
The NCERT Director, Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani, filed an affidavit stating that the chapter had been “duly rewritten” and would be incorporated in textbooks for the 2026-27 academic session. The Court found this response “disturbing”, noting that the affidavit failed to identify the domain experts who had approved the revised content.
The affidavit disclosed that the original chapter was prepared under the supervision of visiting professor Michel Danino, with Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar also involved in the process.
The Court observed that these individuals either lacked reasonable knowledge about the Indian judiciary or deliberately misrepresented facts to project a negative image before impressionable students.
The Bench directed that the three experts be disassociated from all curriculum development and textbook finalisation projects funded by public money. The order applies to the Union government, states, Union Territories and universities, though the Court clarified that the persons may approach it for modification with an explanation.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the Centre had directed NCERT to review textbooks of all classes, not just Class 8. The Court, however, said it would have preferred the government to constitute an expert committee rather than leaving the review to NCERT itself.
The Solicitor General assured that a panel of domain experts would examine the curriculum and that the rewritten chapter would not be published without the committee’s approval.
The Court directed the Centre to constitute a committee within a week, preferably including a former judge, an academician and a renowned legal practitioner, to finalise the curriculum for legal studies across all classes.
It also asked the government to revisit the composition of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee, particularly those members with whom the offending chapter was digitally shared without formal approval.
The Court took serious note of irresponsible content circulating on social media following its earlier order and directed the government to identify the websites and persons involved so that appropriate action could be taken. The Chief Justice remarked that the Court would not spare those responsible even if they were hiding outside the country.
The Bench reiterated that its orders were not intended to prevent healthy and objective criticism of the judiciary. If the institution suffers from deficiencies and such deficiencies are pointed out by an expert committee, it would be a welcome step for future generations, the Court observed.
The NCERT had earlier tendered an unconditional apology, stating that the entire book had been withdrawn from circulation. The controversy arose after media reports highlighted that the chapter listed corruption, a massive backlog of cases and a shortage of judges among the challenges faced by the judicial system.
Case Title: In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade-8 (Part 2) published by NCERT and ancillary issues | SMW (C) 1/2026
FAQs
1. Why did the Supreme Court ban the NCERT Class 8 textbook?
The Supreme Court banned the NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook “Exploring Society: India and Beyond” because it contained a chapter titled “The Role of Judiciary in Our Society” which listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” and a massive backlog of cases as challenges facing the judicial system. The Court took suo motu cognisance after an Indian Express report highlighted the chapter’s contents, terming it a “calculated move” to undermine the dignity of the judiciary and influence impressionable young minds.
2. What was written in the NCERT Class 8 judiciary chapter?
The chapter discussed challenges facing India’s judicial system, including corruption at various levels of the judiciary, a massive case backlog due to shortage of judges and poor infrastructure, and cited data showing over 1,600 complaints received against judges between 2017 and 2021. It also referenced statements by a former Chief Justice of India on the lack of transparency in the institution. The Court objected that the chapter omitted the judiciary’s positive contributions to constitutional morality and the basic structure doctrine while presenting a one-sided narrative.
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