The Supreme Court on Monday said it will examine whether the sharp reduction in the NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying percentile compromises the standard of postgraduate medical education, observing that the issue of “quality” was its primary concern.
A bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe made the remarks while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) notice dated January 13, which lowered the minimum qualifying percentile for the third round of counselling.
The bench noted that although NEET-PG candidates are already qualified doctors, the court must still assess whether a “drastic” cut in the cut-off would affect the quality of postgraduate education.
“Adversely affecting the quality of education is what we are concerned about more than anything. It is about the quality… You will have to satisfy us that the reduction of the cutoff so drastically will have little impact on the quality of education,” the court said.
The bench added that while NEET-PG is “not like entry into MBBS” and stands on a “different footing” since candidates already hold MBBS degrees, the consequences of the reduction require judicial consideration.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on March 24.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, defended the decision as a policy measure taken due to large-scale vacancies in postgraduate seats.
Referring to the government’s affidavit, she submitted that NEET-PG does not certify minimum clinical competence, which is already established by the MBBS qualification. Instead, it is intended to generate an inter se merit list for allocating limited postgraduate seats.
The Centre stated that for the academic session 2025-26:
- Total candidates: 2,24,029
- Total seats: approximately 70,000
- All-India Quota (AIQ) seats: 31,742
- Vacant seats after Round 2: 9,621
- including 5,213 seats in government colleges
It argued that the reduction was necessary to prevent “large-scale vacancy of seats, including in Government institutions created through public expenditure,” and was not aimed at benefiting private colleges.
The affidavit also pointed out that percentile reductions are not unprecedented and have been implemented since NEET-PG was introduced in 2017, including a reduction to zero percentile in 2023.
According to the Centre, eligibility for NEET-PG requires a recognised MBBS degree and completion of a compulsory rotating internship. Since all candidates are already licensed doctors, the examination serves only as a comparative ranking mechanism.
It further submitted that courts ordinarily do not interfere in academic and policy decisions of expert bodies unless they are manifestly arbitrary, mala fide, or unconstitutional.
NBEMS informed the court that 95,913 additional candidates became eligible for counselling after the percentile was reduced, with the general category cut-off lowered from the 50th percentile to the 7th percentile.
The petitions, filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan and doctors Saurav Kumar, Lakshya Mittal and Akash Soni, contend that the cut-off reduction violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and dilutes academic standards.
The Supreme Court will now examine whether the policy justification of filling vacant seats outweighs concerns regarding the quality of postgraduate medical training.
