In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade – 8 (Part‑2) Published by NCERT and Ancillary Issues
Summary: The Supreme Court of India, taking suo motu cognizance of an NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook chapter titled “The Role of the Judiciary in our Society” with a sub‑topic on “Corruption in the Judiciary”, found that the text appeared to present a biased and de‑contextualised narrative that could undermine public faith in the judiciary, especially among impressionable students. Treating the content as potentially amounting to criminal contempt under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Court issued show‑cause notices to the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, and to the Director, NCERT, and directed immediate seizure and removal of all physical and digital copies of the book, imposing a blanket ban on further publication or dissemination. The Court further ordered NCERT, the Union Government, and State Education Departments to report compliance and directed the Director, NCERT to produce details of the relevant committees, textbook development team, and records of deliberations, listing the matter for further consideration on 11 March 2026.
Case Info
Basic Case Information
Case name and neutral citation:Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1 of 2026, “In Re: Social Science Textbook for Grade – 8 (Part‑2) Published by NCERT and Ancillary Issues”.(The neutral citation is not shown on this record of proceedings page.)
Coram:Hon’ble the Chief JusticeHon’ble Mr. Justice Joymalya BagchiHon’ble Mr. Justice Vipul M. Pancholi
Date of order / judgment date:26 February 2026
Caselaws and citations referred
In the extracted text, the Court does not refer to or cite any previous cases or reported judgments. There are no SCC/ AIR/ SCR style case citations in this order extract.
Statutes / laws referred
The order expressly refers to:
- Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, particularly Section 2(c) (definition of ‘criminal contempt’).
- It also references, in principle, the Constitution of India (separation of powers, basic structure doctrine, constitutional morality), but without citing specific Articles by number.
Brief summary (three sentences)
The Supreme Court of India, taking suo motu cognizance of an NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook chapter titled “The Role of the Judiciary in our Society” with a sub‑topic on “Corruption in the Judiciary”, found that the text appeared to present a biased and de‑contextualised narrative that could undermine public faith in the judiciary, especially among impressionable students. Treating the content as potentially amounting to criminal contempt under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Court issued show‑cause notices to the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, and to the Director, NCERT, and directed immediate seizure and removal of all physical and digital copies of the book, imposing a blanket ban on further publication or dissemination. The Court further ordered NCERT, the Union Government, and State Education Departments to report compliance and directed the Director, NCERT to produce details of the relevant committees, textbook development team, and records of deliberations, listing the matter for further consideration on 11 March 2026.