The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that questioned the government’s decision to lower the qualifying cut-off marks for NEET-PG 2025 admissions to postgraduate medical courses. The petition had challenged the reduction in cut-off, arguing that it could adversely affect the quality of medical specialists and pose potential risks to patient safety.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhayay and Justice Tejas Karia, rejected the plea and upheld the government’s policy decision. The court observed that the objective of postgraduate medical education is to impart specialised skills and expertise rather than to reassess the overall competence of doctors. It further questioned whether it would be in the public interest to leave a large number of postgraduate medical seats vacant.
The petitioner had contended that a significant lowering of the cut-off threshold would dilute academic standards and compromise healthcare outcomes. However, the court noted that NEET-PG functions primarily as a ranking mechanism for MBBS graduates, all of whom are already qualified and authorised to practice allopathic medicine. Admission to postgraduate courses, the bench said, is followed by rigorous training and examinations that candidates must successfully complete.
Counsel representing the respondent authorities argued that existing regulations permit the reduction of qualifying cut-off marks to ensure that vacant seats are filled within an academic year. He informed the court that even after the completion of the second round of counselling, thousands of postgraduate medical seats remained unoccupied across the country. Lowering the cut-off, he submitted, would widen the pool of eligible candidates and allow those lower in the merit list to opt for less preferred specialisations.
The court was also informed that the third round of NEET-PG 2025 counselling under the revised cut-off criteria was already in progress and that the policy decision had been implemented. It was further pointed out that a similar challenge to the cut-off reduction was pending consideration before the Supreme Court and was yet to be listed for hearing.
Meanwhile, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 admissions in view of the large number of vacant seats. With over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remaining unfilled nationwide, NBEMS reduced the qualifying percentile for reserved categories from 40 to zero, enabling candidates with very low scores to participate in the third round of counselling. The qualifying percentile for the general category was also lowered from 50 to seven, as per the official notice.
The revised cut-off policy aims to maximise seat utilisation in postgraduate medical programmes while ensuring that admissions are completed within the stipulated academic timeline.