NEET PG cut-off row: Supreme Court to hear pleas on percentile reduction on April 28

The Supreme Court of India will take up a batch of petitions challenging the reduction in the NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying percentile on April 28, 2026.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayan argued that there was no shortage of qualified candidates to fill the available seats without necessitating a reduction in the cut-off. He also pointed out that seats are lying vacant not because students haven’t qualified, but because many cannot afford the high fees charged by private institutions.

At an earlier hearing, a bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe had indicated that it would look into whether such a sharp drop in the cut-off could affect the standards of postgraduate medical education.

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NEET-PG cut-off row: Fee barrier vs merit debate

Countering this, Senior Advocate DS Naidu, appearing for a candidate supporting the cut-off reduction, said the Centre’s decision does not dilute standards. According to him, all candidates appearing for NEET-PG are already qualified doctors, having cleared their MBBS, which ensures a basic level of competence.

The bench did not go into detailed arguments during the hearing and chose to list the matter for a fuller hearing on April 28.

What was the NEET-PG 2025-26 cut-off controversy?

The issue traces back to a January 13, 2026 notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which reduced the qualifying percentile for the third round of NEET-PG counselling.

As per the notification, the cut-off for General and EWS candidates was brought down from the 50th percentile (276 out of 800 marks) to just the 7th percentile (103 marks). For General PwBD candidates, it was reduced from the 45th percentile to the 5th percentile.

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For SC, ST, and OBC candidates, including those in the PwBD category, the qualifying percentile was reduced to zero, effectively allowing even negative scores to be considered.

Petitioners raise concerns over standards and fairness

Those challenging the decision argue that such a drastic reduction is arbitrary and violates constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 21. They have also warned that lowering the bar to this extent could weaken the quality of postgraduate medical training, with possible implications for patient care and public health.

Earlier, on February 6, the court had asked the NBEMS to explain the rationale behind the move. At the time, Justice Narasimha had observed that the issue involves balancing two concerns; maintaining standards and ensuring that seats do not go unfilled.

Centre defends move, NBEMS clarifies limited role

In its response, the Centre told the court that NEET-PG is primarily a ranking exam used to allocate postgraduate seats, not a test of minimum competence, which is already established through the MBBS degree.

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It added that all candidates are licensed doctors and undergo a rigorous three-year postgraduate training programme, with final competence assessed through MD/MS exams, where passing requires at least 50% marks in both theory and practicals.

Separately, the NBEMS clarified that it was not involved in the decision to reduce the cut-off. The body stated that its role is limited to conducting the exam and handing over the results to the counselling authorities.