NEET PG 2025 : Supreme Court Seeks NBE's Response On Plea Against Conducting NEET-PG In Two Shifts

The Supreme Court on Monday (May 5) issued notice on a writ petition challenging the notification dated April 16, 2025, notifying the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate) [NEET-PG 2025] examination to be conducted on May 15 in two shifts. 

A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan sought the response of the National Board of Examinations, National Medical Council and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As per the writ petition, holding the examination in two shifts has the potential for unfairness due to varying difficulty levels between shifts. It seeks direction to the National Board of Examinations to conduct the NEET-PG 2025 in a single shift to maintain "just, fair, reasonable and equitable" grounds of competition for all the candidates. 

"Holding such an extensive examination in two shifts directly violates the rights of the candidates under Article 14 as maintaining just, fair, reasonable, and equitable grounds of competition is almost impossible because of the lack of transparency in the moderation and normalization process. It also violates article 21 of the candidates, as the process violates the basic right to fair examination," as averred in the writ petition.

Further, it has been stated in the writ petition that NEET-PG 2024 was conducted in a two-shift format and it resulted in a challenge before the Supreme Court because of problems arising out of such system. 

The petition refers to an assessment made by a "prominent online coaching platform" of the disparity in the number of questions in each subject in both shifts in NEET PG 2024. It is therefore claimed that disparity in questions for each subject creates inflation and variation in marks and rankings. 

"As can be clearly seen from the above, the number of questions from several subjects vary, which is likely to grant an undue advantage to several candidates. It will create inflation and variation in marks and rankings, violating the right to equality under article 14 of the candidates. It is humbly submitted that to weed out such discrepancies and provide a uniform/equitable testing ground and fair competition, single shift is the only viable solution."

There is a likelihood that one batch of candidates may face a more difficult question paper than the other batch as happened in the case of NEET PG 2024, where it was alleged that the question paper in second shift was easier. Therefore, it is prayed that the NEET PG 2025, be conducted in a single shift, as noted in the petition.

The petition was filed through AOR Sukriti Bhatnagar, and drafted and argued by Advocate Abhisht Hela.

Case Details: Dr. ADITI & ORS v. NATIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL SCIENCES & ORS| DIARY NO. - 22918/2025