Supreme Court Adjourns NEET PG 2025 Transparency Plea Amid Rising Demand for Answer Key Disclosure

The Supreme Court of India has adjourned a petition seeking greater transparency in the NEET PG 2025 examination process, postponing the hearing to next week. The plea was filed by a group of aspirants demanding that the full question paper along with the answer key be released, ahead of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) counselling, which is expected to begin on or after September 5.

The petitioners have called for an urgent hearing, arguing that the release of the complete question paper and answer key is essential to ensure the fairness and integrity of the examination, especially after a series of contradictory steps taken by the exam conducting body.

This year’s NEET PG exam, conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), witnessed several unprecedented changes. Initially planned to be held in two shifts, the exam was eventually conducted in a single shift following a Supreme Court directive, thereby eliminating the need for the normalisation method in rank calculation.

In a move welcomed by aspirants, NBEMS had initially agreed to release the answer key along with the full set of questions. However, the board later withdrew the commitment, issuing a “corrective notice” stating that only question IDs would be shared instead of the actual questions. Subsequently, the board released a document containing Question IDs, the master set answer key, and the candidates’ marked responses.

This decision was quickly challenged in the Supreme Court by aspirants who claim that the lack of full question disclosure hinders their ability to verify the correctness of the evaluation and undermines transparency.

Adding to the complexity, the National Medical Commission (NMC) recently issued a clarification for the upcoming NEET PG 2025 counselling process, stating that medical colleges do not need fresh recognition of seats for this cycle. However, institutions are required to submit their annual disclosure reports and course-wise fee structures.

As the MCC counselling process looms, aspirants and stakeholders await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the transparency plea, which could have a significant impact on the trust and credibility of the postgraduate medical entrance examination system in India.