Why's CBSE Class 12 Maths Paper Trending?

The word 'rickrolling' is trending after Class 12 students claimed on X that a QR code printed on a CBSE Class 12 mathematics board exam paper redirected them to the music video, Never Gonna Give You Up, by Rick Astley.

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Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters

Key Points

The CBSE Class 12 maths question paper printed a QR Code that reportedly led to a music video by Rick Astley.
The prank means you have been 'RickRolled'.
The CBSE has issued an official statement confirming the 'Class 12 mathematics question papers are genuine and the security of the question papers remains uncompromised'.

Why is the CBSE Class 12 maths paper trending?

Several Class 12 students who appeared for the CBSE maths examination on March 9 were left surprised after a QR code in the paper reportedly redirected students to a YouTube link of a 1987 song by Rick Astley.

The decades-old viral Internet prank is known as rickrolling.

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IMAGE: Twitter user @Aadityaparkash shared this image of the CBSE Class 12 maths question paper which features a QR code. Photograph: Kind courtesy @Aadityaparkash/X

What's rickrolling?

Rickrolling is a popular Internet prank where you trick someone into clicking a link that leads to the 1987 pop hit, Never Gonna Give You Up.

The online prank dates back to the mid-2000s, when Internet users would disguise and overwrite links with misleading titles and share them with unsuspecting people.

Instead of the promised content, the link would lead them to the music video featuring Rick Astley.

What does CBSE have to say about the QR code prank?

$CBSE issues press statement confirming QR code rickrolling in Class 12 mathematics paper$

IMAGE: The CBSE issued a statement confirming QR code 'rickrolling' in its Class 12 mathematics paper. Photograph: Kind courtesy CBSE/X

CBSE issued a statement signed by Dr Satyam Bhardwaj, controller of examinations.

'Many security features are provided on the Question Papers. These include QR codes to verify the genuineness of the question paper in case of suspected security breach.

'On 09.03.2026, examination of Mathematics was conducted for class 12. In a few question paper sets, it appears that when one of the given QR codes is scanned, it links to a YouTube video.

'It appears that this has raised concerns about the veracity of the question papers amongst concerned students and their parents,' the CBSE statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) (external link) read.

'It is hereby confirmed by the Board that the question papers are genuine. The security of the question papers remains uncompromised,' the statement added.

What action will CBSE take?

The press release further added how CBSE will respond to the QR code violation.

'While the concerns about the veracity of the question papers is put to rest, the matter has been viewed seriously and necessary steps are being taken by the Board to ensure that such issues are not repeated in future.'

Over 18 lakh students are appearing for the CBSE Class 12 board examinations this year.

The CBSE Class 12 board exam commenced on February 17. The last exam is scheduled on April 10.

Earlier last month, several students who appeared for the CBSE Class 10 exam found the mathematics paper to be lengthy and challenging.

As per the new and updated policy, Class 10 and Class 12 students can appear for an improvement exam in the same academic year to enhance their scores if they are not satisfied with their performance.