CBSE OSM controversy: After Vedant’s viral complaint, board acknowledges answer sheet error

Days after a Delhi student alleged that the Physics answer sheet uploaded under his CBSE roll number belonged to someone else, the board has now acknowledged the error and shared the correct answer script with him, bringing an unusual and widely discussed Class XII evaluation controversy to a partial close.

The student, Vedant, whose posts on X sparked a wider debate around CBSE’s new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, said on Monday evening that CBSE officials had contacted the family and sent the correct Physics answer sheet after reviewing the matter.

“We have got my correct answer sheet by CBSE. CBSE officials reached out to us in the evening and has sent my answer sheet. We were correct on our claims and the answer sheet indeed got exchanged,” Vedant wrote on X.


The development comes amid growing scrutiny of CBSE’s digital evaluation and answer-sheet access process this year, which has already drawn complaints over portal crashes, blurred scans, missing pages and payment glitches.

Vedant first raised concerns after receiving lower-than-expected marks in Physics in the CBSE Class XII results declared earlier this month. After applying for scanned copies of his evaluated answer books, he alleged that the Physics paper uploaded under his roll number did not match his handwriting or the answers he had attempted.

“The handwriting style, spacing, slant, sentence flow — everything was different,” he had written earlier while sharing comparisons with his English and Computer Science answer sheets.

The posts quickly went viral online, attracting millions of views and triggering intense reactions on social media. While many students supported him and shared similar complaints, others accused him of attempting to discredit CBSE.

According to PTI, some users even labelled him “anti-national” and “Pakistani” over the complaint after noticing his X account location displayed “South Asia”.

Reflecting on the episode after CBSE admitted the error, Vedant wrote, “People called us anti-national and Pakistani just because we raised a genuine concern and at the end truth has prevailed.”

CBSE confirms technical glitch

In its response to Vedant on X, Central Board of Secondary Education acknowledged the issue and said the correct answer sheet had been sent to the student’s registered email address.

“Thank you for bringing your concern regarding your Physics answer book to our attention. Upon review, the matter has been examined, and the correct copy of your answer book has been sent to your registered email address,” the board said.

CBSE further added, “Necessary action for updating your result, as applicable, is also being undertaken accordingly.”

Vedant also said the family would still apply for re-evaluation after reviewing the newly received answer sheet.

Speaking to PTI, Vedant’s brother Siddhant Srivastava said the family was not opposed to digitised evaluation systems but questioned the pace of implementation.

“He acknowledges that OSM can be a good system in principle for transparency and efficiency, but such systems should undergo proper phase-wise testing and validation before full implementation,” PTI reported.

Vedant, meanwhile, urged CBSE to investigate whether similar answer-sheet exchanges may have affected other students as well.