NCERT, Delhi Crime Branch seize 32,000 pirated textbooks in Ghaziabad raid: CBSE

In a major crackdown on illegal printing, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) along with the Crime Branch of Delhi Police seized 32,000 pirated NCERT textbooks of various classes and subjects. The raid was conducted at a printing facility in Village Jawli, Loni, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Based on specific inputs received during earlier cases, the Delhi crime branch conducted the raid in Ghaziabad.

During the operation, around 32,000 pirated NCERT textbooks of various subjects along with two printing machines, aluminium printing plates, paper rolls, and printing ink were seized, indicating large-scale unauthorised printing, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said.

“Officials from NCERT’s Publication Division were present during the raid and seizure proceedings and provided technical assistance for identification and verification of pirated material,” it said.

In November, CBSE issued an advisory for all affiliated schools directing them to purchase only “genuine textbooks” and shared authorised sources to buy original NCERT textbooks. NCERT had reiterated that unauthorised printing, distribution, or sale of textbooks is a punishable offence under law.

Following this, in December 2025, around 51 police cases were filed over the publication and distribution of fake textbooks copied from the ones published by NCERT over the past three years. The number of copies seized has grown 890% in just five years.

The highest number of 1.96 lakh pirated books were found from Shahdra, Delhi, and 1.33 lakh in Muzaffarnagar, followed by Loni and Hapur in UP. Among the total FIRs filed, Haryana recorded the highest of 19 cases between 2023 and 2025, followed by Delhi-NCR (7) and Uttar Pradesh (5).