The Supreme Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) policy restricting disclosure of NEET-PG examination questions and answer keys. The Court directed the examination body to explain why candidates could not retain copies of question papers and how their disclosure would affect the integrity of the examination.
A Bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe sought written submissions from NBEMS justifying its position on the disclosure of questions in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET-PG).
The direction came during the hearing of a batch of petitions raising concerns about various aspects of the postgraduate medical entrance examination, including transparency in the publication of answer keys.
Supreme Court Questions Different Disclosure Standards
During the proceedings, Justice Narasimha questioned why NBEMS followed a disclosure policy different from that of other examination bodies.
The Bench observed that the Board had not adequately explained its approach and that its existing justification did not satisfy the Court.
Justice Narasimha emphasised the importance of transparency and asked NBEMS to provide a clearer explanation of why NEET-PG required a different standard from other examinations.
The Court directed the Board to submit its reasons in writing, particularly addressing how permitting candidates to retain question papers could compromise the examination process.
NBEMS Calls Question Bank a National Asset
Defending the existing policy, counsel appearing for NBEMS submitted that the postgraduate medical examination relied on a limited question bank developed with contributions from experts across the country.
The Board argued that these questions constituted a national asset and that their disclosure could affect their continued use in future examinations.
According to NBEMS, the experts responsible for preparing the questions do not retain copyright over them because the question bank becomes a national resource.
Its counsel maintained that repeated disclosure of questions each year could result in the exhaustion of the available question bank over the next five to six years.
The Board also emphasised the difficulty of preparing the postgraduate examination and defended its reluctance to make the questions and corresponding keys available.
Availability of Previous Question Papers Raised in Court
One of the lawyers appearing in the proceedings challenged the reasoning offered by NBEMS, pointing out that question papers from previous years’ NEET-PG examinations were already available for purchase on Amazon.
The lawyer questioned why the examination authority continued to resist disclosure when earlier question papers were being sold publicly.
The submission prompted further scrutiny of the Board’s policy, with Justice Narasimha seeking a more detailed justification for restricting access to examination material.
The Supreme Court has now required NBEMS to place its explanation on record, specifically addressing the relationship between disclosure of examination questions, transparency and the integrity of NEET-PG.
