Did CBSE Use Mobile Phones To Scan Answer Sheets? Rahul Gandhi Amplifies Sarthak Sidhant’s Questions
The controversy surrounding CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system intensified further after student blogger Sarthak Sidhant questioned the board's answer sheet scanning process and received support from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
New Delhi, May 31: The controversy surrounding CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system intensified further after student blogger Sarthak Sidhant questioned the board's answer sheet scanning process and received support from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In a post on X, Sidhant challenged CBSE's claim that answer sheets were digitised using scanners. Referring to copies that have surfaced online, he pointed to what he described as visible drop shadows and fold marks on scanned pages.
"Good morning CBSE, you said you used scanners to scan these copies. Now since the copies are out to the public view, do you mind explaining which copies when scanned through a scanner, have a drop shadow? And these three folds? Did you really use scanners?" Sidhant wrote. CBSE Class 12 Evaluation Controversy: Missing Pages in Student’s Answer Sheet Raise Questions in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj.
The post quickly gained traction and was later amplified by Rahul Gandhi, who used it to renew his criticism of CBSE's OSM implementation and the tender process behind it.
Rahul Gandhi Amplifies Sarthak Sidhant's Questions on CBSE Scanning Process Amid OSM Controversy
CBSE’s May 2025 tender required answer sheets to be scanned with automatic robotic scanners, spines preserved, at a minimum of 300 DPI.
The tender re-issued in August quietly removed all of it. “Scanners” became generic. Resolution dropped to 200 DPI.
Now we know what that… https://t.co/XXdorOi3oq
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 31, 2026
Responding to the controversy, Gandhi alleged that CBSE's original May 2025 tender required answer sheets to be scanned using automatic robotic scanners with preserved spines and a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. According to him, a revised tender later removed those specific requirements and reduced the minimum resolution standard to 200 DPI. Who Are Vedant Shrivastava, Nisarga Adhikary and Sarthak Sidhant? The 3 Gen-Z Students Who Put CBSE's OSM System Under Scrutiny.
The Congress leader further claimed that answer sheets were ultimately scanned using mobile phones, arguing that complaints regarding blurred copies, missing pages and unscanned answer books were the predictable outcome of decisions taken during the procurement process.
Calling the issue a matter affecting millions of students, Gandhi accused the government of failing to address concerns raised by students and demanded accountability from those responsible for the project.
Sidhant, an 18-year-old student from Jharkhand, has become one of the central figures in the CBSE OSM debate after publishing a detailed analysis of the tender process and raising questions about changes made to eligibility conditions across multiple bidding rounds.
CBSE and vendor Coempt EduTeck have denied allegations of wrongdoing and maintain that the evaluation process followed established procedures. However, the latest exchange has added fresh momentum to the growing controversy surrounding the board's digital evaluation system.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2026 07:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
