India, April 9 -- It is not often that middle-school civics sparks judicial controversy. The recent banning of a civics textbook by the Supreme Court, however, has snowballed from a school lesson into a question of judicial authority and institutional temperament.

The facts are, by now, well known. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of a chapter in a class VIII NCERT textbook titled "The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society". The chapter presents the judiciary as a pillar of democracy, situates it constitutionally and outlines its role as protector of citizens' rights. At the same time, it acknowledges widely recognised challenges - pendency of cases, shortage of judges, and possibility of corruption within the system. It is this...