NCERT to review textbooks across classes; expert panel to vet curriculum, Centre tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Central government has directed the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to review textbooks across all classes, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday.

Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Mehta said two affidavits had been filed tendering an unconditional apology in connection with the controversy over textbook content. An advertisement carrying the apology had also been issued, he said.


The Solicitor General told the court that the Centre had directed NCERT to review textbooks across all standards and that a committee of independent, neutral domain experts would be constituted to examine the curriculum.

“We have started systemic changes in NCERT. Nothing will be published without being vetted by domain experts,” Mehta told the court.

During the hearing, the CJI observed that the affidavit filed in the matter suggested that the curriculum had been approved without necessary approvals at multiple levels. He said the matter should have been placed before the appropriate body.

“If this is the casual way of publishing curriculum for students of this country, then what can we say,” the CJI remarked.

Responding to the observations, Mehta said that in some instances materials were circulated selectively in digital form and that the process required systemic changes, which had already been initiated.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal submitted that the concerns were not limited to a particular chapter and that issues existed across the textbook. He suggested that the proposed committee should examine all aspects of the content.

Also Read: NCERT orders immediate recall of Class 8 Social Science book amid judiciary row

The Bench also sought clarification regarding the rewriting of a chapter mentioned in NCERT’s affidavit. When NCERT informed the court that the chapter had been rewritten by subject matter experts, the Bench asked who had carried out the revisions.

Justice Dipankar Datta questioned the process and sought details of the experts involved.

Mehta assured the court that a panel of domain experts would examine the curriculum and that going forward no content would be included in textbooks unless it had been vetted by the committee.

The matter relates to petitions raising concerns over the content of certain NCERT textbooks and the process through which curriculum material was finalised.

"At the outset, we have no reason to doubt that Professor Michel Danino, along with Ms Diwakar and Mr Alok Prasanna Kumar, either does not have reasonable knowledge about the Indian judiciary or they deliberately and knowingly misrepresented the facts in order to project a negative image of the Indian judiciary before students of Class 8 who are at an impressionable age.

There is no reason as to why such persons be associated in any manner with the preparation of the curriculum or finalisation of textbooks for the next generation. We direct Union, all States and all institutions receiving State funds to disassociate them from rendering any service which would mean payment to them from public funds," the court noted.

What is the NCERT book controversy?

The controversy began after a newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) included a section discussing “corruption in the judiciary” in a chapter on the role of courts.

The content triggered sharp criticism, and the Supreme Court of India took suo motu cognisance, saying the material could undermine the credibility of the judicial institution.

Also Read: NCERT row: Dharmendra Pradhan vows accountability, action

The court subsequently ordered a blanket ban on the book, directed seizure of physical copies and removal of digital versions, and sought explanations from education authorities.

Following the intervention, the Centre apologised in court and NCERT withdrew the textbook, admitting it was an “error of judgement” and initiating a review of its textbook approval process.