A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) newly implemented On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class XII Board examination answer sheets for the 2025–26 academic session.
Filed by Advocate Mohit Ashok, the petition alleged that the digital evaluation mechanism was introduced in a hurried and arbitrary manner without adequate pilot testing, evaluator training, technological preparedness or institutional safeguards, resulting in large-scale discrepancies in the declaration of Board examination results across the country.
The controversy emerged after CBSE announced the Class XII Board examination results for 2026, following which several students, parents and teachers raised concerns regarding unusually low marks, particularly in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Multiple students claimed that despite securing qualifying scores in competitive examinations such as JEE Main, they had obtained disproportionately low marks or failed in corresponding CBSE Board subjects.
The petition stated that social media platforms and educational forums were subsequently flooded with complaints alleging blurred scanned answer sheets, incomplete evaluation of diagrams and numerical workings, digital portal malfunctions, inconsistent marking standards and technical defects in the assessment process.
According to the plea, CBSE introduced the OSM system through a circular issued on February 9, 2026, during the ongoing examination cycle. The petitioner contended that evaluators were provided only with limited online orientation sessions and mock digital training before being required to assess scanned answer scripts through electronic interfaces, despite their long-standing experience with conventional physical evaluation systems.
The PIL alleged that the transition from manual assessment to digital on-screen evaluation was undertaken without sufficient technical infrastructure, contingency mechanisms, quality-control protocols or specialised training modules for examiners. It is further contended that the absence of proper implementation safeguards adversely affected the accuracy and uniformity of the marking process.
Referring to statistical trends in the 2026 results, the petition claimed that only 5.3 per cent of students secured marks above 90 per cent, while less than one per cent crossed the 95 per cent threshold, figures alleged to be significantly lower than previous academic years. The plea further alleges that science stream students were disproportionately impacted by irregularities in digital assessment.
The petition relied on reports, public complaints and statements of teachers and education experts highlighting alleged scanning defects, image clarity issues, evaluation inconsistencies and technological glitches associated with the OSM framework.
Challenging the legality of the evaluation process, the petitioner argued that arbitrary implementation of an inadequately tested digital assessment mechanism violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The plea contended that the right to education includes the right to fair, transparent and accurate evaluation of answer scripts, and that defective assessment practices have prejudicially affected the academic future of lakhs of students.
The PIL sought the constitution of an independent expert committee comprising academicians, technical specialists and education policy experts to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the implementation of the OSM system and examine alleged failures in the evaluation process.
The petitioner further sought directions for free re-evaluation of answer sheets of affected students and challenged CBSE’s policy of charging Rs 100 per question for re-assessment. It was argued that students should not be compelled to bear financial costs arising out of institutional and administrative deficiencies allegedly attributable to the examination authority itself.
Additionally, the plea sought interim directions to universities and higher educational institutions to safeguard admission opportunities of affected students pending correction and review of examination results. The petition further requested the High Court to direct that future implementation of digital evaluation systems should be preceded by pilot projects, structured evaluator training programmes, stakeholder consultation and adequate technological testing.
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