The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to order the Central Board of Secondary Education to reopen its online application portal for Class 12 answer sheet re-evaluations, rejecting a plea filed on behalf of candidates seeking extra time to challenge their marks under the board’s digital evaluation system.
Judicial Bench Cites Fixed Application Window
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana ruled that the submission window had been made available to all candidates for a set period and warned that extending the deadline would trigger a fresh wave of claims. Rejecting the request, Chief Justice Kant observed that the opportunity had been uniformly open to everyone, comparing those who failed to apply in time to passengers missing a bus.
Petitioner Highlights System Failures
The legal challenge targeted the implementation of CBSE’s On-Screen Marking method, a digital grading process where teachers evaluate scanned copies of physical answer scripts on screens instead of examining physical paper booklets. The petitioner alleged that the scanning procedure caused multiple irregularities, including un-evaluated answers, un-scanned pages, and illegible digital images.
Counsel for the petitioner requested a one-week extension, arguing that website crashes had prevented numerous candidates from filing their verification applications before the deadline expired.
CBSE Cites Successful Registrations
Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing CBSE, informed the apex court that 1.68 lakh candidates had successfully completed their applications within the official notification window. Mehta further noted that a similar legal challenge against the digital evaluation process had already been dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
