NEET PG 2025: SC To Hear Petition On Transparency Of Answer Key Tomorrow

Previously, on April 29, the Supreme Court directed NBE to publish raw scores, answer keys and the normalisation formula. (File pic/PTI)

The Supreme Court will hear petitions regarding the NEET PG 2025 counselling process on September 19, having rescheduled it from September 12. Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan will conduct the hearing. The petitions, submitted by NEET PG candidates and the United Doctors Front (UDF), focus on concerns about transparency in the examination process.

What Are The Key Concerns?

Following a directive from the Supreme Court, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) released the NEET PG answer key for the first time. However, candidates have criticised the format, as it includes only question IDs instead of the full questions.

Rather than providing complete question papers and detailed answer keys, NBEMS released only “answer key IDs.” Candidates argue this limits proper verification of their answers and raises doubts about the evaluation process. They have requested the court to instruct NBEMS to adopt a more transparent system.

The United Doctors Front (UDF) filed one of the petitions after previously opposing the NBE’s decision to hold NEET PG 2025 in two shifts and employ a normalisation formula. On August 21, NBEMS issued a “corrective notice,” which is now under legal review.

Students claim that the limited disclosure is “opaque, unintelligible and incapable of meaningful verification.” They argue that the system violates their right to a fair admission process under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. A petition states, “It frustrates the very object of publishing answer keys, which is to help candidates cross-check their answers and raise objections.”

Previously, on April 29, the Supreme Court directed NBE to publish raw scores, answer keys and the normalisation formula. Now, candidates allege NBEMS has deviated from that order.

The legal proceedings have paused the NEET PG 2025 counselling process. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has not yet announced the dates for the All India Quota counselling, which covers 50% of seats in MD, MS, and PG Diploma courses. Meanwhile, some states like Gujarat, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have begun their state quota counselling registration.