New Delhi, 08 June (H.S.):

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) while hearing a petition seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the digital evaluation system and complaints related to On-Screen Marking (OSM) in the Class 12 board examinations.

A vacation bench headed by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed CBSE to respond to the petition and scheduled the next hearing in the matter for June 12.

The petition was filed by the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) through its president, Vinod Jakhar.

During the hearing, CBSE's counsel, M.A. Niyazi, objected to the maintainability of the petition, arguing that it had been filed by the student wing of a political party. He contended that the matter amounted to the politicisation of education and therefore should not be entertained.

In response, counsel appearing for NSUI argued that while the organisation is affiliated with a political party, that alone cannot be grounds to deny it the right to file a petition before the court.

CBSE also informed the court that the examination portal could not be reopened for an additional month. However, the board stated that it was examining concerns raised by students regarding the evaluation process.

The petition seeks additional marks for students whose scores were allegedly lower than expected or lacked clarity. It further demands the opening of a fresh verification window, a fresh physical examination of disputed answer sheets, and an independent inquiry into the alleged irregularities that may have affected the Class 12 examination results.

Additionally, the petition has sought directions for the formulation and implementation of stronger safeguards, protocols and guidelines governing the digital evaluation system in the future. The objective, according to the plea, is to prevent similar complaints and disputes from arising in subsequent examination cycles.

The case has drawn attention to concerns surrounding the use of digital assessment technologies and the need for robust mechanisms to ensure transparency, accuracy and accountability in the evaluation process. The High Court is expected to consider the submissions of both parties when the matter comes up for further hearing on June 12.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar