While the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) had earlier agreed to the Supreme Court’s direction to release the answer key for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025, the controversy is far from over.

A group of candidates has now filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court, alleging discrepancies in their scores and pressing for the immediate release of raw marks, official answer keys, and recorded responses, as reported by The Telegraph.

What has happened?

The legal challenge comes even as NBEMS recently published the merit list for the 50 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats without resolving mounting concerns over the delay in releasing the answer key.

A week earlier, the Board had assured students that the document would be shared “shortly”, but no such release has followed, fuelling suspicion and anxiety among aspirants.

Adding to the unrest, NBEMS had initially promised to upload both response sheets and answer keys for all candidates, but later revised its stance, saying only question IDs would be provided. This U-turn has drawn sharp criticism from students and advocacy groups, who argue that it undermines transparency in the evaluation process.

The issue adds to NBEMS’s troubled track record. In earlier years, the board faced backlash for last-minute changes in exam structure and for introducing a normalisation system across multiple shifts — a move that many claimed created inconsistencies in state merit lists.

The Supreme Court itself, in a previous case, flagged similar issues and directed NBEMS to explain the normalisation process in detail.

As the fresh legal battle begins, candidates are looking to the judiciary to ensure fairness and transparency. For now, all eyes remain on NBEMS to issue a clear and timely response to the demands of thousands of affected aspirants.