UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NCERT book row: Supreme Court unhappy with ‘rewritten’ chapter

Q1. Who among the following headed the Supreme Court Bench that took suo motu cognisance of the NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook chapter on 'Corruption in the Judiciary' in 2026?

  • A. Justice Joymalya Bagchi
  • B. Chief Justice Surya Kant
  • C. Justice Vipul M. Pancholi
  • D. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Q2. With reference to the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2023, under which the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook (now banned) was prepared, consider the following statements: 1. It was developed under the mandate of the National Education Policy, 2020. 2. It is the first major revision of the National Curriculum Framework in nearly two decades. 3. It was prepared by the University Grants Commission as the nodal agency, with NCERT only acting as the publisher. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was developed under the mandate of the National Education Policy, 2020.
  2. It is the first major revision of the National Curriculum Framework in nearly two decades.
  3. It was prepared by the University Grants Commission as the nodal agency, with NCERT only acting as the publisher.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. In the context of the Supreme Court taking up the NCERT textbook controversy in 2026, the expression 'suo motu cognisance' most accurately means:

  • A. Cognisance taken by the Court on its own motion, without any formal petition or party approaching it
  • B. Cognisance taken only on the basis of a Public Interest Litigation filed by a registered civil-society organisation
  • C. Cognisance referred to the Supreme Court by a High Court under Article 139A of the Constitution
  • D. Cognisance taken in exercise of the advisory jurisdiction of the Court under Article 143

Q4. NCERT, which published the Class 8 Social Science textbook at the centre of the 2026 Supreme Court controversy, is an autonomous organisation that functions under which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education
  • B. Ministry of Education, Department of School Education and Literacy
  • C. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • D. Ministry of Culture, Department of Art and Culture