February 25, 2026 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of references to corruption in the judiciary contained in a Class 8 Social Science textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), describing the issue as a matter of serious concern.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, considered the issue after it was mentioned in court by senior advocate Kapil Sibal. Sibal submitted that schoolchildren in Class 8 were being taught about corruption within the judiciary and said the development was deeply troubling.

During the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the contents of the textbook appeared to run contrary to the basic structure of the Constitution. The Bench indicated that the manner in which the subject had been presented raised significant constitutional concerns.

The Chief Justice stated that both members of the Bar and the Bench were disturbed by the material. He added that judges of various High Courts had also expressed unease over the issue. The court made it clear that it would not permit any attempt to defame the institution of the judiciary.

The controversy relates to passages in the newly introduced Class 8 Social Science textbook, which list corruption, a massive backlog of cases and shortage of judges as challenges faced by the judicial system in India.