The Supreme Court on Friday addressed concerns regarding transparency in the NEET-PG selection process by issuing a notice to the National Board of Education (NBE). The apex court is seeking a response on a plea that demands the disclosure of answer keys and question papers for the NEET-PG 2024 exam, which took place on August 11.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, considered the petition filed by MBBS doctor Ishika Jain among others. The petitioners have called for the NBE to increase transparency by releasing the answer keys and establishing a dedicated grievance portal to handle discrepancies and concerns from candidates.
The plea arose after the NEET-PG results, announced on August 23, led to widespread dissatisfaction among candidates over unexpectedly low rankings. Many students, upon comparing their scores with unofficial answer keys available online, expressed concerns over potential errors in the ranking process.
Senior advocate Vibha Makhija, representing Jain and the other petitioners, argued that the absence of publicly available question papers and answer keys prevents candidates from accurately assessing their performance. This opacity, she contends, undermines the fairness and transparency of the competitive examination.
Initially, the bench suggested that the matter be taken to the Delhi High Court. However, recognizing the broader implications of the issue, the Supreme Court decided to issue the notice directly to the NBE and set the next hearing for September 20.
