Return Social Science textbook, delete online posts, NCERT tells public

A day after the Supreme Court banned a Social Science textbook over a section on “corruption” in the judiciary, the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) on Friday (February 27, 2026) asked people to return the book and take down related social media posts.

The NCERT reiterated that it had withdrawn the Class 8 textbook.

In its advisory issued on Friday (February 27, 2026), the NCERT called for any “individual or organisation” in possession of the book or any material related to it to return it to the Publication Division of the Department of Education in Social Sciences in New Delhi “at the earliest possible”. Anyone who had posted any material related to the controversial section on social media or online should delete it, it said.

The statement was issued by the office of Himanshu Gupta, Secretary, NCERT, and cited the Supreme Court order in this regard.

Suo motu case

The Supreme Court registered a suo motu case on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) in relation to the section that had appeared in a chapter titled “Role of Judiciary in Our Society”. Chief Justice Surya Kant called the section on “corruption” in the judiciary a “selective reference”, while calling for a suo motu case to be registered.

On Thursday (February 26, 2026), while hearing the case, the Supreme Court directed that copies of the book that had already been distributed or sold be seized, further asking officials concerned to file a compliance report regarding this seizure.

Soon after the Supreme Court heard the issue on Wednesday, the NCERT issued a public statement apologising for the “inappropriate textual material” and “error in judgement” that had “crept into” the said textbook. A day later, as the controversy intensified, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed regret and noted that a direction had been issued to withdraw the book as soon as this material was noticed. Government officials claimed that the direction was issued on Tuesday, a day after the book was released.

Sources added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also taken notice of the section in question and called for accountability to be fixed. Mr. Pradhan told presspersons on Thursday (February 25, 2026) that action will be taken against those found responsible.