Supreme Court Directs NBE To Conduct NEET-PG 2025 In A single Shift To Ensure Uniformity

The Supreme Court on Friday instructed the National Board of Examinations (NBE) not to hold the NEET-PG 2025 exam in multiple shifts, citing concerns over inconsistency and varying difficulty levels. The court has directed the NBE to make necessary arrangements to conduct the exam in a single session.

The court’s move comes after growing concerns from aspirants and experts over the fairness and transparency of conducting the postgraduate medical entrance exam in multiple shifts—a system first introduced in 2024 and widely criticised.

The two petitions — filed by United Doctors Front (UDF), and Dr Aditi Gupta and six other doctors — raised alarm over the use of different question papers in each shift and an opaque score normalisation process. Petitioners argue that the lack of transparency and inconsistent evaluation standards threaten the integrity of one of India’s most important medical entrance examinations.

Welcoming the judgement, Lakshay Mittal, the president of UDF, told The Free Press Journal, “It’s a landmark judgement which will ensure fairness and transparency in the PG-Medical entrance test. It will not only benefit the aspirants, but will also ensure that the best of the students become future doctors, and it will make the healthcare system only better.”

Brijesh Sutaria, a Mumbai based medical education activist, told the FPJ, "I genuinely feel sad for the NEET PG 2024 batch, who were compelled to accept a two-shift examination system with normalisation scores despite genuine concerns about fairness and transparency. They bore the brunt of a flawed transition without a single hearing or timely intervention."

"However, this landmark Supreme Court judgment is a true victory for NEET PG 2025 aspirants and a strong message to all regulatory and examining bodies: you cannot gamble with the future of India’s doctors," he added.

"This is the second remarkable and much-awaited order from the apex court on medical education, and it is evident that the Hon’ble Judges have examined every layer of the issue with microscopic precision. The verdict restores trust in the system and reinforces that justice, when delivered firmly, can course-correct systemic lapses," Sutaria further noted.

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