SC Issues Notice to NMC, NBE on NEET PG 2025 Two-Shift Format; Hearing Next Week

NEET PG 2025: Supreme Court Issues Notice to Centre, NMC, and NBE Over Two-Shift Exam Format; Hearing Scheduled Next Week

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union of India, the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in response to a petition challenging the decision to conduct the NEET PG 2025 examination in two separate shifts. The plea was filed by the United Doctors' Front (UDF), urging the Apex Court to intervene and direct authorities to hold the exam in a single shift to ensure fairness, uniformity in difficulty level, and transparent evaluation criteria.

The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, argues that conducting the exam in multiple shifts violates candidates’ fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21—namely, the right to equality and the right to a fair, merit-based opportunity.

The UDF contended that while a normalization process was applied during NEET PG 2024 to balance score discrepancies across different shifts, it remains statistically flawed and fails to ensure true parity among candidates. The federation emphasized that shifting such a high-stakes national-level examination into multiple sessions without a robust and transparent normalization mechanism undermines meritocracy.

A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan acknowledged the concerns raised and sought responses from the NMC and NBE. The matter is scheduled for hearing next week.

Meanwhile, the NEET PG 2025 examination is currently slated to be conducted on June 15, 2025, in two shifts across the country.