Click the Play button to listen to article

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a PIL filed by National Students' Union of India (NSUI) alleging “large scale irregularities and deficiencies” under the newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that prayer of reevaluation of answer books gives rise to individual cause of action which can be filed by students concerned but such a claim cannot be raised in a PIL.

The Court observed that individual students can always approach the CBSE or the Court for raising their grievances and disposed of NSUI's PIL.

The Bench took note of an order passed by the Supreme Court on August 25 wherein it had refused to direct the CBSE to reopen its post-result window for on-screen verification of answer sheets.

The Apex Court had held that the notified correction window had been available to all candidates for a specified period. It had further noted that admissions based on the CBSE results had already taken place, making it difficult to reopen the process at such a belated stage.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBSE, submitted that the Supreme Court had examined all the aspects and then concluded that it was not possible to direct reopening of post-result window.

The counsel appearing for NSUI said that the prayer sought in the PIL is distinct from the order passed by the Supreme Court. It was submitted that in the PIL, it has been averred that various students had applied for re-verification or reevaluation but the same did not take place.

He said that even though the portal may not be reopened but the CBSE must respond to the request of the students who applied for reevaluation.

On this, the Court questioned the counsel as to how can reevaluation or reverification be possible without opening of the portal.

“The law is clear. In absence of any provision, reevaluation cannot be ordered by the court. Individual students need to come.…. If you are saying individual students seeking reevaluation of answer books, then it is for individual students who will have to approach the CBSE and the Court. Not you,” the Court remarked, as it disposed of the plea and refused to proceed further in the matter.

The PIL filed through NSUI's President Vinod Jhakhar, sought an independent inquiry, citing technical issues and grievance related failures concerning the OSM system. Notice in the plea was issued in June by a coordinate bench during the Summer vacations.

NSUI had claimed that the PIL has been filed in the larger public interest on behalf of lakhs of students who appeared in the Class XII examinations conducted by CBSE under the OSM system.

The plea stated that the system was introduced as a digital method of scanning and evaluating answer books. However, after result declaration, large numbers of students, parents and teachers across the country raised concerns regarding blurred scans, missing pages, incomplete uploads, mismatch of answer sheets, unexpectedly low marks and lack of a meaningful mechanism for manual verification.

It added that the figure reflects an “extraordinary level of concern and lack of confidence amongst students regarding the process.”

It averred that the existing grievance mechanism is inadequate and that students were left with limited digital remedies and no meaningful process for manual verification or independent rechecking of disputed answer books.

NSUI said that lack of a robust corrective mechanism heightens the prejudice because the academic calendar continues to move forward while the disputes remain unresolved.

The plea thus seeks reopening of the verification portal for a month and permit manual rechecking and physical verification in disputed cases.

It sought a direct oversight by the Union Government and calls for an independent inquiry into the alleged irregularities, thereby ensuring that proper safeguards and guidelines are framed for future digital evaluation systems.

The plea was filed through Advocates Rishav Ranjan, Ajay Chhikara, Omar Hoda, Eesha Bakshi and Shubham Mishra.

Title: NATIONAL STUDENTS' UNION OF INDIA v. UNION OF INDIA & ANR

Case Number: WP C 8116/2026

Tags: