Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday, February 25, took suo motu note of a controversy over a revised Class 8 NCERT Social Science textbook that includes a chapter on “corruption in the judiciary,” calling the inclusion “a calculated and deep-rooted attack” on the judicial institution and warning that the Supreme Court would not allow the judiciary’s integrity to be defamed. He said the top court would act decisively, “irrespective of how high the matter reached,” to protect the institution’s reputation.
The CJI told the court he had been inundated with calls and messages, including from High Court judges, expressing serious concern. “I’m getting a lot of calls and messages about this, also from judges of the HCs,” he said in open court, signalling the depth of unease within the judiciary over the revised textbook content.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal flagged the issue during proceedings, telling the Bench that senior members of the Bar were “very disturbed” by references to “judicial corruption” in the Class 8 book published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). “We as senior members of this institution are very disturbed at ‘judicial corruption’ being part of the Class 8 books,” Sibal submitted.
Responding sharply, the CJI reiterated that the court would not permit attacks on the judicial institution. “I will not allow anyone to defame and question the integrity of the judiciary,” he said, adding that the court would not allow anyone “to target the judicial institution.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi argued the textbook appeared to single out the judiciary while remaining silent on corruption in other branches of governance. “It’s as if corruption exists only in the judiciary. There is no word about politicians, ministers, bureaucrats or anyone else,” Singhvi told the Bench, describing the chapter as selectively critical.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was also on the Bench, added that the book’s structure lacked “constitutional integrity to the basic structure,” further underscoring the court’s concerns.
The contested chapter, titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society,” discusses corruption’s impact on judicial credibility and highlights systemic challenges such as shortage of judges, complex procedures and inadequate infrastructure. The book also cites data on case pendency, saying the Supreme Court has about 81,000 pending cases, High Courts collectively have over six million, and lower courts face more than 40 million cases.
What began as an academic inclusion has turned into a constitutional debate over institutional accountability, public perception and the boundary between civic education and criticism of state institutions, a debate the Supreme Court has signalled it will consider seriously.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/national/story/calculated-move-cji-slams-ncert-after-inclusion-of-chapter-on-corruption-in-judiciary-in-class-8-text-book-1351380-2026-02-25?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-02-25 12:40:00
