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NEW DELHI: What slows down a court case, why public trust in courts matters, and how corruption can affect access to justice are now questions Class 8 students will encounter in their civics textbook, with the latest NCERT social science book explicitly listing corruption, massive case pendency and shortage of judges as challenges facing India’s judicial system.The revised chapter, titled ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’, forms part of the new class VIII social science textbook released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Unlike earlier editions that focused largely on the structure of courts, judicial independence and access to justice, the updated chapter includes a detailed section on the problems confronting the judicial system.The book states that “people do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary” and notes that for “the poor and the disadvantaged, this can worsen the issue of access to justice”. It adds that efforts are being made at both State and Union levels to “build faith and increase transparency in the judicial system, including through the use of technology, and to take swift and decisive action against instances of corruption wherever they may arise”. Highlighting the scale of pendency, the textbook pegs pending cases at around 81,000 in the Supreme Court, 62.4 lakh in high courts, and 4.7 crore in district and subordinate courts. It attributes the backlog of cases to several factors, including an inadequate number of judges, complicated legal procedures and weak infrastructure.A separate section in the civics chapter explains that judges are bound by a code of conduct governing their behaviour both inside and outside courtrooms.It refers to internal accountability mechanisms and an established procedure for receiving complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), noting that more than 1,600 complaints were received between 2017 and 2021.The chapter also quotes former Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who in July 2025 said that instances of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary “inevitably have a negative impact on public confidence”. “However, the path to rebuilding this trust lies in the swift, decisive and transparent action taken to address and resolve these issues… Transparency and accountability are democratic virtues,” he is quoted as saying.
