Supreme Court to Hear Plea Challenging NEET-PG 2025 Exam in Two Shifts

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition challenging the National Board of Examinations' (NBE) decision to conduct the NEET-PG 2025 exam in two shifts. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) courses is scheduled for June 15, with results expected by July 15.

A bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih acknowledged the urgency of the matter after the petitioners' counsel highlighted that admit cards would be issued on June 2. The court assured that the plea would be listed for hearing within a day or two.

Earlier, on May 5, the top court had sought responses from the NBE, the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding the petition. However, despite the court's assurance last week that the matter would be heard, the plea was not listed, prompting the petitioners to raise the issue again on Monday.

The petition, filed by Aditi and others, argues that holding the exam in two shifts could lead to unfairness due to potential variations in difficulty levels between the shifts. The plea seeks a directive for the NBE to conduct the test in a single shift to ensure a "just, fair, reasonable, and equitable" competition for all candidates.

This development comes shortly after the Supreme Court issued guidelines to prevent seat-blocking in NEET-PG counselling and mandated the disclosure of raw scores, answer keys, and normalisation formulae for transparency.

The NEET-PG exam, conducted via a computer-based platform, is a crucial gateway for medical graduates seeking admission to postgraduate courses. The petitioners contend that a single-shift examination would eliminate discrepancies and maintain uniformity in the evaluation process.