CBSE answer sheet controversy deepens as student alleges uploaded Physics copy is ‘not mine’

Fresh concerns have emerged over the post-result verification process of the Central Board of Secondary Education after a Class XII student alleged that the Physics answer sheet uploaded by the board under his roll number did not belong to him.

The student, Vedant Shrivastava, raised the issue through a series of posts on social media platform X, claiming that the handwriting, presentation style and answers in the scanned Physics copy were completely different from his own.

The allegation comes at a time when CBSE is already facing criticism from students and parents over portal crashes, payment glitches, delayed access to scanned copies and blurred documents during the Class XII post-result verification process.

According to Vedant, the discrepancy became evident after he and his family compared the uploaded Physics answer sheet with his English and Computer Science papers, which he said clearly matched his handwriting and writing style.

“The Physics answer sheet sent by CBSE is not my answer sheet at all. I know this is not my handwriting and it did not have the questions I attempted,” the student wrote on X.

He further claimed that his teachers and family members also noticed major differences in handwriting style, spacing, sentence flow and overall presentation.

“The handwriting style, letter formation, spacing, slant, sentence flow — everything is different. This is not a minor variation. It is completely different writing,” he stated.

Vedant alleged that the mismatch directly affected his marks and eligibility criteria for higher education admissions. He claimed that because of the marks awarded in Physics, he failed to secure the required 75 per cent aggregate in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM).

“I am awarded 50% marks for the answers written by some other student. Where is my real answer sheet? Where are my real marks?” he questioned.

The student also raised broader concerns about the transparency and reliability of the board’s On-Screen Marking (OSM) system, which digitises answer sheets for evaluation.

“CBSE said OSM would improve transparency and fairness. But if answer sheets themselves are getting mismatched, then how are students supposed to trust this process?” he wrote.

Vedant has urged the board to verify his original physical answer sheet, audit the scanning and tagging system, and investigate whether answer sheets may have been exchanged during digitisation.

According to the student, media reports indicated that CBSE may look into the matter and take necessary action. The board has not yet issued a detailed public response regarding the allegation.