The Supreme Court is expected to hear the petition regarding the alleged ambiguity and lack of transparency in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate 2025 (NEET-PG 2025) answer keys on Friday, September 19.
This petition was filed in the apex court by a group of NEET-PG 2025 aspirants through Advocate Satyam Singh on August 28 and was heard on September 12. While the matter was deferred to a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan, and was slated to be heard on September 23 as a top-priority case, the hearing was seemingly rescheduled for September 19.
Opacity in NEET-PG 2025 answer keys
The matter pertains to the recently released answer key and candidate response sheets of NEET-PG 2025, which the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) issued on August 29.
The petitioners argue that the Board’s decision to release the answer keys and response sheets through “Question ID Numbers” from a Master Set, rather than in the order in which each candidate attempted the paper, was “opaque” and “incapable of meaningful verification” by the candidates.
In its original notice, published on August 21, the NBEMS announced that it would release the the questions, the correct answers, and responses marked by the candidates in the answer keys and response sheets.
However, the Board issued a "correction" to the notice on the same day, declaring that the answers would be displayed only through the Question ID numbers from a Master Set of questions used in the NEET-PG 2025 exam, instead of the actual questions.
The candidates would therefore see:
Question ID numbers from the Master Set
The correct answer key
Candidates’ responses
The NBEMS argued that since questions and options were shuffled for every candidate, disclosure had to be mapped to the common Master Set.
Point of answer keys defeated, aspirants say
Candidates argue that the new format would not give them a clear view of the questions they attempted, denying them an opportunity to cross-check their answers.
According to the petition, this “frustrates the very object of publishing answer keys and responses, which is to enable candidates to cross-check their answers, raise objections against discrepancies, and ensure transparency in evaluation of a high-stakes national examination.”
Further, it points out that candidates without the technical abilities to map the Question IDs to their corresponding questions in the Master Set would especially be left in the dark.
Therefore, they see the new format as a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution (Right to Equality), as it rests on the assumption that all question papers had the same sequence of questions — thereby ignoring unequal circumstances. Furthermore, not disclosing the questions is a denial of transparency and a fair admissions process, which is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, they add.
What the petitioners seek
As a result, the petition seeks the release of the answer keys and candidate response sheets with the questions in the order actually attempted, candidates’ responses, the correct answer, and the marks awarded, as is the case with many national-level examinations, including the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET).
In addition, the petition also seeks that the Supreme Court direct the NBE to:
Provide a downloadable copy (PDF/CSV) of the response sheet for candidates’ records.
Open an objection window of at least 48 hours, with reasoned orders on grievances.
Frame clear guidelines for transparency in future postgraduate medical entrance exams.
Ensure that the ongoing counselling process is made subject to the outcome of the case.
The petition further clarifies that the candidates do not wish for the cancellation of NEET-PG 2025 or a re-exam.
Petitioners decry NBE’s continued lack of transparency
For petitioners, the format of the answer keys only underscores one thing — NBE’s perceived evasion of transparency and lack of fairness.
“Every year, we observe discrepancies in NEET-PG marks. Hard-working, studious candidates who score well in other exams like the AIIMS-INICET (All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test) somehow fail to repeat their performance in NEET-PG, while candidates who aren’t serious do. We can’t even check where we went wrong,” one of the petitioners, who requested anonymity, lamented.
He argues that releasing answer keys and response sheets with the questions helps build trust in NBEMS and the exam process of NEET-PG among candidates.
“This year, several candidates reported a difference of 80-200 marks between what they calculated based on recall sessions and their final scores. We would know where we went wrong if only the NBEMS issued the answer keys in the correct format,” he explains.
He reveals that in the absence of this, candidates only suspect foul play on NBEMS’ part. “Despite orders from the Supreme Court, the answer keys released by the Board do not give a full picture of our performance. What should we make out of the NBE’s reluctance to issue answer keys, if not malpractice?”, he questions.
Recalling the previous court proceedings, a Supreme Court bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan ordered the NBEMS to release the NEET-PG answer keys and response sheets earlier this year.
Moreover, in previous interventions in 2018 and 2021, the Supreme Court directed the NBEMS to release NEET-PG answer keys and raised serious questions about the exam’s transparency.
For candidates, therefore, this petition and the outcome of the hearing on September 19 will decide the fate of the fairness in the exam, “We cannot go to the Courts with one single demand every year; I hope that the court ensures that our prayers are answered,” the petitioner hopes.