The Delhi High Court on September 7, declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) challenging alleged irregularities and technical problems in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class XII examinations.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia disposed of the petition after taking note of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on a similar request concerning reopening of the CBSE verification process.
Background of the Case
NSUI President Vinod Jhakhar had sought an independent inquiry into alleged deficiencies in the OSM system. The plea also sought relief for students who claimed that their answer scripts were blurred, missing or incorrectly evaluated.
NSUI further sought reopening of the verification and re-evaluation portal for an additional month and directions for appropriate consideration of students’ grievances.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBSE, relied on the Supreme Court’s earlier refusal to direct reopening of the post-result verification process.
The Bench held that a request for revaluation concerns an individual student and therefore cannot ordinarily be pursued through a PIL.
“We observe that claim for revaluation of answer book gives rise to individual cause of action to the student concerned for which it is always open for the student to take redressal of the grievances with CBSE within framework.”
The Court also stressed judicial discipline in view of the Supreme Court having already considered the issue.
The Delhi High Court accordingly disposed of NSUI’s PIL without granting the reliefs sought. It clarified that students with individual grievances regarding evaluation or revaluation remain free to approach CBSE or the appropriate court under the prescribed framework.
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