Supreme Court’s Blanket Ban on NCERT Class 8 Book; Council Seeks Return of Copies, Removal of Online Content

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing controversy, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Friday issued an advisory asking people to return copies of its banned Class 8 Social Science textbook to its headquarters. The book had a chapter dealing with “judicial corruption”. 

NCERT Asks for Return of Textbooks, Deletion of Online Content

In a strongly worded advisory, the NCERT said that anyone who has the textbook titled ‘Exploring Society: India and Beyond’ should send it back to the council’s headquarters. It also directed that any material from the chapter titled “role of judiciary in our society” shared on social media or other digital platforms must be removed immediately.

The advisory clearly stated:

"Any individual or organisation in possession of the NCERT textbook 'Exploring society: India and Beyond', may return it to the (NCERT) headquarters. Any content related to the chapter 'role of judiciary in our society' if posted on social media or any digital platforms be deleted at the earliest possible," the advisory said.

The action was taken the day after the Union Ministry of Education wrote to the ministries of electronics, information, and broadcasting, requesting that they cease distributing the contentious textbook on digital platforms and electronic media. This came after the book was banned by the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Imposes “Complete Blanket Ban”

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered a “complete blanket ban” on any further publication, reprinting, or digital circulation of the NCERT Class 8 book. The court said the textbook contained “offending” material about corruption in the judiciary.

While expressing serious concern, the court remarked that “a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding”.

What Was the Controversy?

The controversy started over a chapter in the Social Science textbook for Class 8, which addressed the challenges faced by the judicial system. A large backlog of cases, a lack of judges, and corruption are some of the issues facing the judiciary, according to the book.

NCERT issued an apology for the chapter's "inappropriate content" in response to the Supreme Court's pointed objections. According to the council, the book will now be revised after consulting with the relevant authorities.