NEET PG 2025 Counselling: Supreme Court to Hear Plea on Answer Key Transparency Today

NEET PG SC Hearing: The Supreme Court of India is set to hear petitions today, 19 September, concerning the NEET PG 2025 counselling process. The hearing, originally scheduled for 12 September, was postponed and will now be conducted by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan.

Petitions Challenge Answer Key Format

The petitions have been filed by NEET PG candidates and the United Doctors Front (UDF), raising concerns about the transparency of the examination and evaluation process. The main issue centres around the format of the answer key released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which was made public for the first time following a Supreme Court directive.

Candidates have criticised the answer key format, which includes only question IDs and corresponding answer key IDs, without the actual questions. This, they argue, prevents proper verification of their responses and undermines the purpose of publishing answer keys. The petitioners have requested the court to direct NBEMS to release complete question papers and detailed answer keys.

Objections to Exam Structure and Evaluation

The UDF had earlier opposed NBEMS’s decision to conduct NEET PG 2025 in two shifts and apply a normalisation formula. A corrective notice issued by NBEMS on 21 August is also under legal review.

Students claim that the current format is unclear and does not allow meaningful verification. They argue that it violates their constitutional rights under Articles 14 and 21, which guarantee equality and protection of life and personal liberty. One of the petitions states that the limited disclosure “frustrates the very object of publishing answer keys.”

Alleged Non-Compliance with Court Orders

On 29 April, the Supreme Court had directed NBEMS to publish raw scores, answer keys, and the normalisation formula. Candidates now allege that NBEMS has not complied with that order.

Counselling Process on Hold

Due to the ongoing legal proceedings, the NEET PG 2025 counselling process has been put on hold. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has not yet announced dates for the All India Quota counselling, which accounts for 50% of seats in MD, MS, and PG Diploma courses. Meanwhile, states such as Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have started registration for their respective state quota counselling.