CBSE Class 12 data breach: Congress alleges 20 lakh answer booklets leaked
Synopsis
Congress has accused CBSE of a privacy breach that allegedly put answer booklets of 20 lakh Class 12 students in the public domain — and pointed the finger at edtech firm COEMPT, claiming the RFP was manipulated to favour the vendor. CBSE has denied everything, but with results season looming, the political and institutional pressure is only building.
Key Takeaways
Congress alleged on 31 May that answer booklets of 20 lakh Class 12 students were accessible in the public domain via the CBSE OSM evaluation portal.
Jairam Ramesh accused edtech firm COEMPT of poor scan quality and alleged the CBSE altered RFP technical conditions to favour the vendor.
Rahul Gandhi separately raised allegations of impropriety over the contract awarded to COEMPT .
The CBSE denied any breach, clarifying that the portal actually used for evaluation bears a different URL from the one cited in social media claims.
The Board called Gandhi's allegations 'erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts' in a post on X.
The Indian National Congress on Sunday, 31 May alleged a serious security and privacy breach in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation portal, claiming that answer booklets of 20 lakh Class 12 students were made accessible in the public domain. The CBSE has firmly rejected the allegations, maintaining that no security breach has occurred on its platform.
What Congress Alleged
Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications and former Union Minister, posted on X that the incident constituted a 'massive data leak' that had put the privacy of 20 lakh students at risk. He directed his criticism at education technology firm COEMPT, which was awarded the contract to scan answer booklets for the OSM system.
Ramesh alleged that CBSE had altered the technical conditions of its Request for Proposal (RFP) in a manner that 'likely benefited COEMPT.' He further pointed to the scan quality of the leaked booklets as evidence of improper methods, stating: 'The leaked answer booklets show signs of paper folding and shadows — marks typically associated with scans done using mobile phones rather than scanning machines.'
He also noted that the requirement for robotic scanners had been removed in the third RFP, raising questions about what scanning equipment COEMPT actually deployed. Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi separately raised allegations of impropriety over the contract awarded to the edtech firm.
CBSE's Rebuttal
The CBSE issued a detailed clarification, addressing a social media claim that the OSM portal at the URL http://cbse.onmarks.co.in had been compromised on 26 February 2026. The Board stated that the portal actually used for answer-book evaluation operated on a different URL, which 'has neither been compromised nor does it have the vulnerabilities indicated in the said social media post.'
In a post on X, the Board described Rahul Gandhi's allegations regarding the vendor contract as 'erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts,' and assured students that strong safeguards were in place to protect the integrity of the evaluation platform.
The COEMPT Contract Controversy
At the centre of the dispute is the contract awarded to COEMPT for scanning Class 12 answer booklets as part of the OSM system. Congress has alleged that modifications to the RFP's technical criteria — specifically the removal of a robotic scanner requirement — were made in a way that favoured this particular vendor. The CBSE has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the vendor selection process.
Notably, this is not the first time the CBSE's digital evaluation infrastructure has drawn scrutiny. The OSM system, designed to reduce human error and improve marking transparency, has come under pressure precisely at the point where its security architecture is most critical — during live evaluation of board exam answer sheets.
What Happens Next
With the Congress pressing for accountability and the CBSE standing by its systems, the dispute is likely to intensify as Class 12 results season approaches. Demands for an independent audit of the OSM portal and the vendor selection process are expected to grow, particularly given the scale of students potentially affected.
Point of View
And one the CBSE has not addressed with any documentary transparency. A flat denial on X is not the same as an audit trail. If the scan-quality argument holds — folding marks and shadows consistent with mobile-phone captures — that is a process failure regardless of whether the portal was technically 'hacked.' The board's credibility demands more than a rebuttal; it demands evidence.
NationPress
18 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CBSE Class 12 data breach allegation about?
Congress has alleged that answer booklets of 20 lakh Class 12 students were made available in the public domain through a security lapse in CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) evaluation portal. The CBSE has denied any breach, stating the portal used for actual evaluation was on a different URL and was not compromised.
Who is COEMPT and why is it at the centre of the controversy?
COEMPT is an education technology firm awarded the contract by CBSE to scan Class 12 answer booklets for the OSM system. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that CBSE altered technical conditions in its RFP — including removing a robotic scanner requirement — in a manner that likely benefited COEMPT, a charge the CBSE has rejected.
What did Jairam Ramesh specifically allege?
Ramesh alleged that the leaked booklets showed signs of paper folding and shadows, suggesting scans were made using mobile phones rather than proper scanning machines. He questioned why the robotic scanner requirement was dropped in the third RFP and called the incident a 'massive data leak' that put student privacy at risk.
How has CBSE responded to the allegations?
CBSE stated that the portal cited in social media claims — http://cbse.onmarks.co.in — is not the one used for actual answer-book evaluation, and that the real portal has not been compromised. It described Rahul Gandhi's allegations about the vendor contract as 'erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts.'
What are the implications for Class 12 students?
CBSE has assured students that strong safeguards are in place to protect the integrity of the evaluation process. However, with results season approaching and the controversy unresolved, demands for an independent audit of both the OSM portal and the vendor selection process are likely to grow.
