India's Supreme Court has banned a school textbook after a chapter in it made a reference to corruption in the judiciary.

The revised social science book was published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which designs the syllabus and textbooks for millions of schoolchildren in the country.

On Wednesday, after Chief Justice Surya Kant criticised the book, saying it could damage the reputation of the judiciary, NCERT apologised and withdrew it from distribution.

Now the court has ordered a complete halt on the book's publication, saying its contents were "extremely contemptuous" and "reckless".

"A complete blanket ban is hereby imposed on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the book," the court said on Thursday, according to legal news website LiveLaw.