NCERT book row: Supreme Court modifies earlier order concerning 3 academics

📌 Summary:

• The Supreme Court on May 22, 2026 recalled observations made in a March 11 order that had blacklisted three educators involved in preparing a Class 8 NCERT textbook containing references to judicial corruption.

• The court deleted its conclusive opinion attributing motive to the academics, removed the finding that the content was a "deliberate misrepresentation to tarnish the judiciary," and set aside the direction that no one should engage them.

• The three — author and scholar Michel Danino (a Padma Shri awardee), educationist Suparna Divakar and legal researcher Alok Prasanna Kumar — had sought deletion of the adverse portions, arguing the March 11 order was passed ex parte (without hearing them) and that the content was the result of a collective decision.

• The earlier March 11 order had issued a carte blanche direction to the Union government, States, universities and publicly funded institutions to "disassociate" themselves from the three.

• Justice Joymalya Bagchi, on a three-judge Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant, said "the problem was only with the content and not the creators," but held that the textbook's portrayal of the judiciary was "lopsided" — highlighting corruption while omitting the judiciary's constitutional role.

• The court left it to the government's "independent decision" whether to associate with the academics; Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the government would, on its own, decide not to associate them further.

• Counsel for the academics argued that openly debating institutional flaws in schools is valuable ("warts and all") and that adverse judicial observations have a "massive impact" on individuals' reputations.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance) — the role of NCERT in school curriculum and textbooks; the balance between judicial scrutiny and academic freedom; natural justice and the impact of adverse, ex parte judicial observations on citizens.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education that prepares school textbooks and curriculum.

• The case concerned a Class 8 NCERT Social Science textbook.

• An ex parte order is one passed without hearing the affected party.

• The three-judge Bench was headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

🔑 Key Term: Ex parte order — a judicial order passed in the absence of, or without hearing, one of the parties affected by it; recalling such an order on review upholds the principle of natural justice (audi alteram partem).