Corruption, a massive backlog of cases, and an inadequate number of judges are among the major challenges facing India’s judicial system, according to a newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The revised chapter, titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society,” moves beyond explaining the structure and hierarchy of courts to examine systemic issues affecting the justice delivery system
Earlier editions of the textbook primarily focused on the organisation and functions of courts.
A dedicated section on “corruption in the judiciary” notes that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court but also their conduct outside it.
“People do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary. For the poor and the disadvantaged, this can worsen the issue of access to justice. Hence, efforts are constantly being made at the 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,” the chapter reads.
The textbook also underlines the scale of pendency across courts. It puts the number of pending cases at approximately 81,000 in the Supreme Court, 62.40 lakh in high courts, and 4.70 crore in district and subordinate courts.
Highlighting accountability mechanisms, the book refers to the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) as an established channel for lodging complaints. It states that more than 1,600 complaints were received through the mechanism between 2017 and 2021.
The textbook also quotes former Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, who in July 2025 said that instances of corruption and misconduct within the judiciary had 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 in the book.
(With inputs from PTI)