Supreme Court asks CBSE to report on OSM grading issues

The Supreme Court of India has intervened in a growing controversy over the Central Board of Secondary Education's digital evaluation system, expressing serious concern over the "frustration" of students and directing the government to address systemic issues. The court's three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, made the observations on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, while hearing a public interest litigation.

The bench highlighted what it described as "creeping problems" in the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, a digital grading method where teachers evaluate scanned copies of answer scripts on computers. Justice Bagchi told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present for the government, that the court was seeking his assistance in a non-adversarial manner to find a permanent solution. Chief Justice Kant pointed to the "amount of frustration of young children" caused by the alleged irregularities.

Solicitor General Mehta assured the court that the government was taking the systemic concerns seriously. He stated that while most individual mark sheet discrepancies cited in the petition had been addressed, a broader...