The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Tuesday issued an unconditional apology and withdrew a Class 8 social science textbook after the Supreme Court objected to a chapter discussing judicial corruption.

The social science textbook for Class 8 had stated that corruption, a massive backlog of cases and the lack of an adequate number of judges were among the challenges faced by the judicial system.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NCERT said, "The National Council of Educational Research and Training has recently published a social science textbook, 'Exploring Society: India and Beyond' Grade 8 (Part 2), which contained Chapter 4 titled 'The Role of Judiciary in our Society'."

"The director and members of NCERT hereby tender an unconditional and unqualified apology for the said chapter four. The entire book has been withdrawn and is not available," it added.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi had taken suo motu cognisance of the "objectionable" statements about the judiciary in NCERT textbooks after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, alongside Abhishek Singhvi, mentioned the matter for urgent consideration.

CJI Kant strongly objected to the chapter on judicial corruption in the NCERT's Class 8 curriculum, saying nobody on earth would be allowed to defame the judiciary and taint its integrity.

The Supreme Court imposed a "complete blanket ban" on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the NCERT's Class 8 social science book as it contains "offending" content on corruption in the judiciary, saying "a gunshot has been fired and the institution is bleeding."

The government also expressed anguish over the inclusion of the controversial section in the book, with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan promising to fix accountability and take action against those involved in drafting it.