NEET PG Evaluation Row: SC Lists Plea on Normalisation, Transparency for May 20
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: The pleas seeking transparency in the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 exam will now be heard on May 20, 2025. Earlier, the matter was listed for a hearing on May 15.
Even though the Apex Court bench of Chief Justice of India Gavai and Justice AG Masih remarked that the pleas mainly concerned NEET PG 2024 and the matter now seems infructuous, the petitioners' counsel pointed out that the present batch concerns the larger issues of mark normalisation, correction of answer keys and discrepancies in marks, Live Law has reported.
After being filed in September 2024, the plea before the Supreme Court has been deferred time and again. Recently, scheduled for a hearing on April 22, the matter was deferred by the Supreme Court.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the plea was filed by a group of NEET PG aspirants who alleged that there was a lack of transparency and adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by the National Board of Examinations (NBEMS), which conducted the NEET PG 2024 exam.
In their plea filed before the apex court, NEET-PG aspirants claimed that the introduction of two shifts, normalisation method, and change in the tie-breaker criterion just three days before the examination affected the students adversely. They argued that the NEET-PG information bulletin could be amended at the whims and fancy of the authorities and no rules or regulations existed governing the conduct of examinations.
It challenged the National Board of Examinations (NBE) practice of not disclosing question papers, answer keys, or response sheets of candidates for the exam this year.
The plea said that there was a clear lack of transparency in the conduct of the examination since none of the documents allowed students to check their performance, adding that neither the question paper, nor the response sheet filled in by candidates, or an answer key was supplied to the students, and merely a scorecard had been provided.
However, since September 2024, when the plea was filed, it has been deferred multiple times. As per the latest media report by Live Law, the counsel for NBE informed the bench recently that the admissions for NEET PG 2024 have now been completed that the sessions have also commenced. Further, she informed that the rules pertaining to normalisation of marks have also been changed.
Also Read: NEET PG 2025 Double Shifts: Supreme Court issues Notice to Centre, NMC, NBE
The normalisation formula, regarding which the aspirants have been expressing their doubts, was introduced to neutralise the effect of tougher or easier papers for NEET PG held in multiple shifts. This formula is used to calculate the score, based on which the merit list is prepared.
In this regard, the NBE's counsel informed the top court bench that since the NEET PG is a super-specialty exam in which around 2.4 lakh candidates appear each year, "the questions at that level of appropriate difficulty are very limited".
However, taking note of the submissions by NBE and the petitioners, the bench agreed to relist the matter with another similar matter, which also is coming up for hearing on May 20 and which challenges the system of normalisation of marks. Both pleas will now be heard on May 20, Live Law has reported.
Initially, while considering the NEET PG transparency plea, the Supreme Court on September 20 had expressed displeasure over the last-minute changes in the exam pattern by NBE. Terming it to be "unusual", the Apex Court bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had issued notices to the NBE and the Union Government, asking them to file their counter within a week.
However, during the hearing on September 30, the plea was postponed as no one appeared on behalf of the Central Government. On that day, CJI Chandrachud requested all the Additional Solicitor Generals (ASGs) to be present for the upcoming hearing on October 4, 2024.
Later, the plea once again got postponed on October 25 as NBE had pointed out before the top court bench that while they had filed a detailed response, the Union Government had not. Thereafter, the matter was deferred again on later dates. Recently, the hearing on March 25, 2025 got deferred due to the formation of a special Supreme Court bench in the second half of the day. Again, the hearing scheduled on April 8 was deferred.
Recently, the matter was scheduled to be heard as item number 34 on Tuesday i.e. April 22, 2025. However, it went unheard and was scheduled for a hearing on April 29, 2025. Now, as per the Supreme Court's website, the matter is listed for further hearing on May 6, 2025. Now, it has been listed for further hearing on May 20.
Also Read: NEET PG Transparency Plea In Supreme Court- New Hearing Date May 15
