NEET-PG 2025 : Live Updates From Supreme Court On Plea Against Double-Shift Exam

Order: another grievance is regarding refusal to provide answer sheets and question papers despite court orders. We are not examining that question at this stage.

Order:

Holding the exam in two shifts leads to arbitrariness and cannot give a level playing field.

The question papers in the two shifts can never be of the same difficulty level. Last year it may have been held in two shifts in the facts and circumstances of that stage. But the examining body ought to have considered making arrangements for holding examination in one shift.

Acharya: the Supreme Court has set the timeline for this exam. Only a few candidates are before this court.

J Kumar: even if there is just one candidate with a redressable grievance court has to interfere. It does not matter the number of candidates who have come here

Bench: But what is the number?

Acharya: 10 lacs for JEE. But that is why we have only two shifts here. Multiple shifts for 10 lakh candidates and 2 shifts of 2.5 lakh.

Counsel for petitioners: this will reward luck.

Acharya: that has absolutely no basis

Acharya: even if there is slightly different difficulty level we have normalisation.

J Nath: why have normalisation at all? The candidates will get two different difficulty levels.

Acharya: it's not as though the difference is too much. JEE is also just as competitive. And they don't just have two shifts they have 10 shifts.

Acharya: getting 900 centres with requisite infrastructure, uninterrupted Wi-Fi, security will be very difficult.

J Nath: why didn't you do this before? The process started in March. This cannot be accepted

Acharya: There is nothing unique about this exam. CAT, JEE, CUET, Railways, etc..

J Kumar: by now you should have come up with a solution. You can't just say that we did this way last year.

J Kumar: isn't normalization and allocation of shifts human intervention?

Acharya: it is completely random and entirely computerised.

Acharya: a few students will delay the process for everybody. Not everybody is aggrieved.

Counsel for respondent: we will have to identify 900 more centres.

J Nath: you can never say that the two shifts are identical.

Acharya: that's why there is normalization. There is huge number of exams in which this is followed.

J Nath: don't give such threats that whole year will go. what is this?

Acharya: I am not giving a threat. But only 15 days are left and the entire process will get delayed.