New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released a revised Class 8 Social Science textbook, rewriting the chapter on the judiciary and removing portions that had sparked controversy earlier this year.

The revised edition drops references to judicial backlog, corruption in the judiciary and two major court verdicts, while introducing fresh content on Public Interest Litigation (PIL), tribunals and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The opening "Big Questions" section has also been revised. Instead of asking why an independent judiciary is necessary, the new chapter asks why justice is important for a "just and harmonious society".

The revised textbook no longer contains the section titled "Challenges Faced by the Judicial System", which had referred to a "massive backlog" of pending cases and attributed it to a shortage of judges, cumbersome procedures and inadequate infrastructure.

It also omits the section on "Corruption in the judiciary", which had cited remarks by former Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai regarding instances of corruption and misconduct within the judicial system.

The original textbook had triggered a controversy in February, prompting the Supreme Court of India to order the withdrawal of both physical and digital copies. The court imposed a blanket ban on further publication or dissemination of the textbook, describing the content as "offending". NCERT subsequently apologised.

The revised textbook states that it was published following a review process undertaken in compliance with the Supreme Court's directions in a suo motu writ petition.

It also notes that the chapter, "The Role of the Judiciary in Society", was rewritten by an expert committee constituted by the Union Ministry of Education pursuant to the apex court's order dated March 16.

The revised edition lists 48 members in its development team, compared to 51 in the earlier version. The names of Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar, who were earlier held responsible for the chapter, do not figure in the revised list.