'Calculated move to defame institution': Supreme Court takes suo motu cognizance of NCERT textbook on 'corruption in judiciary'

A bench led by Chief Justice of India said the move seems to be a "deliberate" and a "calculated measure" to defame the institution.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to take suo motu cognisance of the contents of the Class VIII NCERT textbook, relating to "corruption" in the judiciary.

The top court is scheduled to hear the matter registered as 'In Re: Social Science Text Book for Grade 8 (Part 2) Published by NCERT and Ancillary Issues' on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India said, the court has taken cognizance of it as the move seems to be a "deliberate" and "calculated measure" to defame the institution.

“I will not allow anyone on earth to defame the institution. I know how to deal with it,” the CJI said, as senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi urged the court to take a suo motu cognisance of the matter.

Sibal said it is deeply disturbing that Class VIII students are being taught that the judiciary is corrupt.

He claimed about the removal of the subjects on constitutional structure in school book, saying "This is absolutely scandalous."

The court took serious objection to sections in the revised book that mention corruption in the judiciary.

The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, this was against the basic structure.

The CJI said, "Law will take its course."

"I am getting many calls about this, High Court judges are perturbed, we will take it up suo motu, I will not allow anyone to play with the integrity of this country," the CJI further stated.

According to SC website, a bench of CJI and Justices Bagchi and Pancholi would take up the matter on Thursday at 10.30 am.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced sections on "corruption in the judiciary" and "massive backlog" of cases in its new Class VIII Social Science textbook in a significant shift from earlier editions that largely focused on the structure and role of courts.

The revised textbook 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond' has a revised chapter, titled "The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society". Two sections in the chapter titled 'Justice delayed is justice denied' and 'Corruption in the judiciary' addressed the challenges faced by the judicial system, including corruption and case backlogs