Supreme Court Seeks Status Report on CBSE Answer Sheet Marking Glitches, Expresses Concern for Students
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) expressed deep concern over the “frustration” faced by students due to systemic failures in the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12 answer sheets. The court directed the Union government to file a status report detailing the progress of a one-member probe committee tasked with investigating the technical defects.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant heard a petition filed by Rakesh Binjola, through advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla, seeking a fair inquiry into the “patent irregularities” in the OSM evaluation system. The petition called for fixing individual responsibility for the failure that affected a large number of students in India and abroad.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre, remarking, “But what steps have been taken so far… Look at the amount of frustration young children are having to face.” The court emphasized the need for concrete action, not just acknowledgment of the problem.
The government had appointed a one-member probe committee on June 2, headed by retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer S. Radha Chauhan, chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission, to investigate the technical glitches. Solicitor General Mehta informed the court that the “personal” issue of the petitioner—his son’s answer sheet not being uploaded on the CBSE website—had been resolved. He further stated that the “general” concerns regarding faults in the OSM system were being examined by the Chauhan panel.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, part of the Bench, noted that while the government is free to formulate the OSM policy, the facts indicate—and the government itself has acknowledged—that there were anomalies in implementation. “We are seeking your assistance not in an adversarial way… You have a right to formulate the OSM policy, but the facts show there are some teething problems which you also acknowledge… We would like you to make improvements for seamless implementation,” Justice Bagchi said.
The Solicitor General assured the court that the government did not view the court’s intervention as adversarial and agreed to file a status report by July 24, the next date of hearing.
The petition highlighted several irregularities, including illegible scanning of answer sheet pages and unchecked answers, pointing to “systematic negligence/failure resulting in a breach of duty of care.” It also noted that the OSM system was implemented for the first time without providing evaluators formal training.
According to the petition, over 17 lakh students appeared for the Class 12 exams in May 2026. The irregularities in the OSM system are said to have contributed to a significant drop in the overall pass percentage to 85.2%—a decline of 3.19 percentage points from the previous year and the lowest in seven years. The CBSE covers over 29,000 schools in India and 257 schools across 25 foreign countries.
The Supreme Court’s intervention underscores the importance of accountability and transparency in high-stakes examinations that affect the future of millions of students. The court is expected to review the government’s status report at the next hearing.
