Yesterday, May 30, the Supreme Court (SC) of India directed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025 in a single shift, in what the medical community of India is now hailing as a “landmark judgement”.
In the verdict, the bench comprised of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Kumar, and NK Anjaria of the Supreme Court stated that the two-shift system would end up creating arbitrariness in the exam, and would amke the playing field uneven, as the difficulty levels of the papers would not be the same — a concern expressed by NEET-PG aspirants and medical experts since last year.
Last year, the NBEMS announced that NEET-PG would be held in two shifts, citing security concerns amidst raging controversy around allegations of a paper leak in its undergraduate counterpart (NEET-UG 2024).
While the decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, the latter dismissed the plea in a hearing barely a few days ahead of the exam, citing logistical challenges and the potential disruption to two lakh aspirants.
However, this time, while hearing a few pleas of a similar nature, the bench also questioned the NBEMS’ decision to conduct the exam in two shifts for a second consecutive year, stating that “the examining body ought to have considered making arrangements for holding the examination in one shift.”
“Did not expect the court to rule in our favour”: Petitioner
Responding to the verdict, Dr Lakshya Mittal, National President of the United Doctors’ Front (UDF) said that the verdict was “unexpected”, and called it a “pleasant surprise.”
To recall, UDF also filed a petition appealing for a single shift NEET-PG this year at the Supreme Court.
“We thought that the NBEMS would sway the bench’s judgement and steamroll its way through, but the court ended up ruling in our favour. We did not expect this ruling,” Dr Mittal said.
He added that for the first time in the history of NEET-PG, aspirants are feeling a sense of relief ahead of the exam.
“Usually, those preparing for NEET-PG would feel anxious, as their exam performance is usually hampered by factors outside their control. However, this verdict ensured that the over two lakh candidates appearing for NEET-PG this year have optimal conditions to perform and can rely solely on their preparation. I am sure that the exam will go smoothly for them, and they will do well,” he says.
In an earlier hearing on May 22, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and JR Mahadevan directed the NBEMS to release the answer keys of NEET-PG, as well as the raw scores of the candidates, in a move to prevent the malpractice of seat booking.
NEET-PG 2025 is scheduled to be conducted on June 15, 2025, with the results expected on July 15.
