CBSE Class XII OSM Row: 'Education Can't Be Politicised', CBSE Opposes NSUI's Plea For Inquiry; Delhi High Court Issues Notice

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice in a plea 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 Justice Neena Bansal Krishna and Justice Madhu Jain sought response of Union Government through Department of Education and CBSE and listed the matter for Friday.

At the outset, CBSE standing counsel MA Niyazi raised preliminary objection and said that the plea was not maintainable as it was filed by a political body.

“It is a student wing of a political party. We do not want the education to be politicised like this,” he said.

The counsel appearing for NSUI said that though the NSUI is associated with a political party, the same does not amount to a disqualification for filing the petition.

Niyazi said that the portal cannot be opened indefinitely for a month and that the grievances of the students are being addressed by CBSE.

The Court issued notice in the PIL and posted it for hearing on June 12.

The public interest litigation, filed through NSUI's President Vinod Jhakhar, seeks an independent inquiry, citing technical issues and grievance related failures concerning the OSM system.

NSUI has 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 states 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 adds that the figure reflects an “extraordinary level of concern and lack of confidence amongst students regarding the process.”

“When such a large number of students seek scanned copies immediately after result declaration, the matter cannot be treated as a routine post-result formality,” the plea said.

It avers 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 has 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 seeks 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 has been 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