SC agrees to hear plea against holding NEET-PG in two shifts

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a plea challenging a decision of the National Board of Examination to hold the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for post-graduate courses (NEET-PG) in 2025 in two shifts.

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As per the schedule, the exam will be conducted in two shifts on a computer-based platform on June 15, and results will be declared by July 15.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih agreed to hear the matter – which the petitioner’s counsel said was “extremely urgent” -- in the next couple of days.

The petition challenging the conduct of NEET-PG examination in two shifts, said it could lead to unfairness due to varying difficulty levels between shifts. It also sought a direction to the NBE to conduct the exam in a single shift to maintain “just, fair, reasonable and equitable” grounds of competition for all candidates.

On May 23, the Bench had said that the plea would be listed for hearing next week, but it was not. The lawyer pointed it out again on Monday.

“The Bench said it would list the matter this week. It is extremely urgent. The admit cards will be issued on June 2,” the lawyer said.

The Bench had on May 5 sought a response from the NBE, National Medical Council and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the plea.

The top court recently delivered a verdict, issuing a slew of directions to stop seat-blocking in NEET-PG counselling and directed publication of raw scores, answer keys and normalisation formulae of the exam.