The petition was filed by descendants of prominent Maratha royal families, including Nagpur’s Mudhojiraje Ajitsinhrao Bhosale, Shivaji Dattatryaraje Jadhav of the Jijau lineage, and Raigad’s Raghojiraje Shahajiraje Angre. They alleged that NCERT removed the map from Hindi, Urdu, and later English editions of the textbook between October 2025 and April 2026 without proper historical review or transparency.
According to the petition, the disputed map appeared in Unit 3 of the Class 8 social science textbook and depicted the territorial extent of the Maratha Empire in 1759. Petitioners claimed the removal was “unilateral, arbitrary, and non-transparent” and carried out without examining archival records, historical evidence, or scholarly material.
The controversy began after objections were raised by members of former royal families and groups in Rajasthan, who argued that the map incorrectly showed regions such as Jaisalmer and parts of Rajputana under Maratha control. Following these objections, NCERT formed an expert committee in August 2025 to review the matter.
The petitioners further alleged that after the death of historian Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale, who was part of the review committee, the vacant position was not filled with another Maratha history expert before decisions regarding the map were taken. They also cited information obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act to claim that NCERT lacked sufficient historical documentation before removing the map.
The PIL has sought restoration of the map in all language editions of the textbook and the formation of an independent expert panel for any future revisions related to Maratha history. Petitioners argued that the issue concerns not just a map, but also historical accuracy and preservation of Maharashtra’s cultural heritage.
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