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The Supreme Court has refused to direct CBSE to reopen its Class 12 answer-sheet re-evaluation portal. The bench noted that the window was open for all candidates for a specified period. CBSE said 1.68 lakh students had successfully applied, while concerns were raised over OSM-related irregularities.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to direct the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to reopen its portal for Class 12 students seeking re-evaluation and verification of answer sheets, including those who raised concerns about the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. The court said the facility had been made available to all eligible students for a specified period and that reopening the window could lead to fresh claims from other candidates.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing a plea challenging the manner in which CBSE introduced the OSM system for evaluating answer sheets. The petition sought relief for students who claimed they were unable to use the online process within the stipulated period, including those who said they faced difficulties when the CBSE website was not functioning properly.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the request was limited to reopening the portal for one additional week, arguing that a number of students could not complete the process because the website had crashed. “The website crashed and many students could not apply for on-screen verification”, the counsel submitted.
The bench, however, was not persuaded that the portal should be reopened. Chief Justice Surya Kant pointed out that the facility had been available to all candidates during a notified period and questioned why the court should make an exception after the deadline had passed.
"Why should we direct them to open this window again for you? If you don't use the bus, you miss the bus. The window was open for everyone for a specified period", the CJI says.
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The Central Board of Secondary Education opposed the plea, maintaining that a large number of students had already used the facility during the notified period. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBSE, told the Supreme Court that around 1.68 lakh students had successfully applied through the portal during the designated window. He also informed the court that the Delhi High Court had previously dismissed a similar challenge concerning the issue.
At the heart of the petition was the implementation of CBSE’s On-Screen Marking system, under which physical answer sheets are scanned and made available digitally to evaluators. Instead of teachers examining the original paper scripts, evaluators review the scanned copies on computers and record marks through the digital system. The system is intended to streamline the evaluation process, improve monitoring and reduce the logistical challenges associated with handling large volumes of physical answer sheets.
However, the petitioners alleged that the shift to digital evaluation had resulted in several problems. Their concerns included instances where some pages of answer sheets were allegedly not scanned, scans were unclear or illegible, and certain answers or pages were allegedly left unevaluated. Such issues, they argued, could directly affect students’ marks and their ability to seek appropriate correction through CBSE’s verification and re-evaluation mechanisms.
The challenge therefore questioned not only the closure of the re-evaluation window but also the broader manner in which the OSM system was introduced and implemented. The petitioners argued that students should not be disadvantaged by technical failures or problems arising during the scanning and digital evaluation process.
CBSE, however, maintained that the notified process had been followed and that a substantial number of students had successfully submitted their requests within the prescribed period. With the Supreme Court declining to order a fresh window, students who missed the original deadline will not receive the additional week sought through the petition.