The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will reportedly add the repeal of triple talaq, the enactment of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), sedition
and the removal of section 377 into the Legal Studies curriculum for Classes 11 and 12. According to an Indian Express report, these changes were approved by the CBSE’s Curriculum Committee and ratified by the Governing Body in June. “CBSE proposes to revise and update the Legal Studies textbooks to reflect: Key provisions of BNS, BNSS, and BSA; Landmark legal judgments and recent legal doctrines; Repealed or outdated laws (e.g., sedition, Section 377, triple talaq); A modern, engaging pedagogy aligned with NEP 2020,” the official records state, as per Indian Express. As per the CBSE Class 12 syllabus PDF available online for Legal Studies, the subject has seven units -- Judiciary, Topics of Law, Arbitration, Tribunal Adjunction and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Human Rights in India, Legal Profession in India, Legal Services, and International Context. This development follows the legal reforms of 2023–24, during which the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Indian Evidence Act. These measures also struck down outdated provisions such as sedition, criminalised triple talaq and the removal of section 377 of the IPC. CBSE officials have admitted that since the Legal Studies textbooks were introduced over five years ago, they have fallen behind the pace of reform. To correct this, CBSE will now form an expert committee to ensure the updated textbooks are ready for the 2026–27 academic session. The last major update came in 2022–23, when the syllabus added socially relevant topics such as the POSH Act 2013, the Right to Information Act, the Consumer Protection Act, Intellectual Property Rights, and legal entities, The Indian Express stated. Meanwhile, CBSE also approved modernisation of vocational offerings in Taxation and Financial Markets Management for Class 12 syllabus. This was also approved in the June Governing Body meeting. The Board noted that the current materials, available online, “need to be updated in the light of the latest amendment in Tax laws and emerging financial trends in relevant sections.” With support from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the updated content will be completed “by November 2025.”
