New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prescribing timelines for providing students with their marks or answer sheets on request, calling it the "dire need of today's scenario".

The recommendation came while disposing of an appeal filed by a Class 12 student who sought access to her assessment records used for preparing the 2021 board examination results after the examinations were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The appellant alleged that errors in the assessment process had caused her "mental agony and depression", requiring her to undergo therapy.

Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi observed that CBSE should introduce a Standard Operating Procedure governing the timelines for furnishing marks or answer sheets sought by students.

The commission said such a mechanism would help prevent hardship of the kind faced by the appellant and would serve the interests of students.

Invoking Section 25(5) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the CIC strongly recommended that CBSE formulate the SOP and place the policy on its official website to ensure greater transparency.

A copy of the order has been sent to the CBSE Secretary for necessary action, while the First Appellate Authority has been directed to submit a compliance report within four weeks.

On the merits of the appeal, the commission observed that the denial of the appellant's own assessment marks by the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), irrespective of the format in which they were maintained, was contrary to the spirit of the RTI Act.

The CIC noted that although the student's challenge to her assessment is pending before the high court, the CPIO should have addressed her request by providing information relating to her own assessment after redacting details of other candidates protected from disclosure under the RTI Act.

The commission directed the CBSE's CPIO to furnish the appellant, free of cost, a revised reply along with the information permissible under the law, including her assessment marks in the tabular format sought in her RTI application.

The student had sought the tabulation sheet for five subjects under the special assessment policy adopted by CBSE after the cancellation of the 2021 Class 12 board examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the hearing, the appellant argued that she was entitled to know the basis on which her assessment had been carried out and contended that no exemption under the RTI Act prevented disclosure of her own records.