NCERT has released a revised edition of its Class 8 Social Science book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond.
The earlier version, published on 23 February 2026, was withdrawn after it drew criticism over its content on the judiciary.
The chapter in question, on the role of the judiciary, has now been completely rewritten.
This follows a Supreme Court order, after NCERT admitted in court that some incorrect content had made its way into the book.
The court had banned distribution of the print and digital editions and asked for the chapter to be redone.
What has changed
- The earlier chapter included a section titled “Justice delayed is justice denied,” which discussed problems such as pending cases and corruption within the judiciary
- It cited figures showing around 81,000 pending cases in the Supreme Court, 62.4 lakh in the High Courts, and 4.7 crore in District and Subordinate Courts
- It also mentioned that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs their behaviour both inside and outside the courtroom
- All of this has now been taken out; the new chapter instead focuses on the Supreme Court’s role in protecting the Constitution
- It explains how ordinary people can seek justice through tools such as Public Interest Litigation, tribunals and alternative dispute resolution
- Real examples are used to illustrate this, including the Hussainara Khatoon case, M.C. Mehta’s environment related cases, and the Vishakha judgment on workplace harassment
A few other changes
Three contributors, Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar, no longer feature on the list of experts credited with preparing the book, which now carries 48 names instead of the original 51
The Supreme Court later clarified that preparing a textbook is a collective effort and that no single person should be held responsible for it
The government set up a monitoring committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra, with former Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Prakash Singh, vice chancellor of HNB Garhwal University, also part of it
The head of the National Judicial Academy has since been added to future reviews of judiciary-related school content
NCERT has reworked its own committee along with its approval and publishing process.
