New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Central Government and the Central Board of Secondary Education on a Public Interest Litigation alleging irregularities and technical glitches in the On-Screen Marking system used for evaluating Class 12 answer sheets. The petition, filed by the National Students’ Union of India, raises concerns over blurred scans, missing pages, incomplete uploads and alleged evaluation errors affecting students.
Court Issues Notice Despite CBSE Objection
A division bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna and Justice Madhu Jain issued notices in the matter and scheduled the next hearing for June 12. The court observed that the allegations required preliminary examination as they relate to students’ academic futures and the transparency of the examination system.
FCRF’s Flagship Cyber Law Certification Returns With a New Four-Week Cohort
During the hearing, CBSE counsel M.A. Niyazi opposed the PIL and argued that it was politically motivated. He submitted that NSUI is affiliated with a political organisation and that such petitions could risk politicising the education system.
CBSE also informed the court that it remains in continuous communication with affected students and has extended deadlines for verification and re-evaluation portals several times to address grievances.
Petition Flags Blurred Scans And Missing Pages
According to the petition, widespread technical failures in the OSM system have affected thousands of students. NSUI alleged that several answer sheets were either partially scanned or not uploaded properly, resulting in incorrect evaluation and lower marks.
CBSE stated that after results were declared, complaints were received from students and parents regarding blurred scanned answer sheets, missing pages, incomplete uploads, mismatched answer scripts and discrepancies in marks awarded. The Board maintained that a grievance mechanism already exists and corrective steps are being taken where required.
The petition sought compensatory marks for students whose answer sheets were missing, blurred or wrongly evaluated. It also requested an independent investigation into alleged technical deficiencies and systemic failures in the digital evaluation process.
Manual Verification Sought For Disputed Cases
NSUI further urged the court to allow mandatory manual rechecking and physical verification of answer sheets wherever discrepancies are suspected. It also sought directions to keep the verification and re-evaluation portal open for at least one more month to ensure affected students get enough time to raise complaints.
Taking note of the allegations, the High Court directed the Centre and CBSE to file detailed responses. The bench also indicated that technical experts may be involved, if required, to examine the functioning and reliability of the OSM system.
The matter has raised wider questions over transparency, data integrity and safeguards in digital evaluation for high-stakes examinations. The outcome of the next hearing is expected to shape whether further reforms or a deeper inquiry into the OSM-based assessment system will be considered.
