The Supreme Court of India has sought clarity from the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) regarding its policy on publishing answer keys for the NEET PG 2025 examination. The directive comes amid ongoing concerns over transparency in the postgraduate medical entrance exam.
A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Vipul M Pancholi has instructed NBEMS to submit an affidavit within two weeks, stating whether it has a formal policy on disclosing answer keys and related exam materials. The Court, however, made it clear that it would not entertain individual complaints alleging discrepancies in the exam’s conduct.
According to LiveLaw, the bench recalled that a similar petition was earlier heard by another bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan, which had issued notice to NBEMS on September 26, seeking its response on the demand for disclosure of NEET PG answer keys.
During the hearing, the counsel for the NBE stated that the board follows a non-disclosure policy, under which candidates sign an undertaking preventing access to or circulation of answer keys. The counsel further alleged that some petitions were motivated by coaching institutes seeking access to question papers, which could compromise the confidentiality and quality of the exam.
Justice Narasimha, however, questioned whether a similar approach to that of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) could be adopted, noting that UPSC publishes provisional answer keys after preliminary exams. When asked about the official status of the NBE’s policy, its counsel initially claimed it was available online but later clarified that the practice was unwritten and based on convention.
Supreme Court’s Directive
The bench has now directed the NBE to file an affidavit explicitly outlining its policy on transparency. The Court reaffirmed that it would not look into specific grievances about the NEET PG 2025 examination.
Earlier this year, on April 29, the Supreme Court had ordered the publication of raw scores, answer keys, and normalisation formulae in another exam-related case to enhance transparency. On May 30, the Court also directed that NEET PG 2025 be conducted in a single shift, while keeping the broader transparency concerns under review.