NEET PG 2025 Mark Discrepancy: PIL filed in Supreme Court as aspirants continue fight for transparency

The fight of NEET PG 2025 aspirants over alleged discrepancies in marks has reached the Supreme Court. In the latest development, candidates have claimed to have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding clarity on raw marks and transparency in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – postgraduate (NEET PG).

A week after the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced its decision to publish the NEET PG answer key “shortly”, aspirants are still awaiting the official question paper and keys to cross-verify the allegations.

Meanwhile, the NBE on Wednesday declared the NEET PG 2025 merit list for 50% All India Quota (AIQ) seats for counselling, but did not clarify on the answer key release date, further adding to aspirants’ concerns.

What happens when a PIL is filed in SC?

Once a PIL is filed, the Supreme Court first examines if the case has enough merit to be taken by the court. If accepted, a hearing date is allotted, followed by court proceedings similar to any other case, before a judgment is passed.

“A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court regarding serious discrepancies in the NEET PG 2025 results . Candidates are demanding the release of the official answer key and recorded responses, emphasizing the need for accountability from NBE/NBEMS. This case is in its early stages, and students are ready to continue their legal fight for justice,” an X account dedicated to NEET PG issues posted.

Another platform, NEET Bhaiya, claimed: “A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court against NBEMS after shocking 100–200 marks discrepancies. Doctors demand: full answer key, response sheets & transparency. Join the fight.”

"A group of NEET-PG 2025 aspirants have filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court challenging a “corrective notice” issued by (NBEMS)," Advocate Satyam Singh Rajpoot confirmed on X.

NEET PG transparency battle

This is not the first time NEET PG candidates have demanded transparency. The NBE earlier faced strong criticism for last-minute changes and introducing a normalization method for two exam shifts, which allegedly led to errors in marks and state merit lists used for counselling.

Last year, the Supreme Court had observed discrepancies in the process and directed the NBE to provide clarifications on the normalization method. It also issued ten directives to prevent seat-blocking and to safeguard the exam’s integrity and fairness.

Referring to the apex court’s earlier order, aspirant Gunjan Guha posted on X: “There was a Supreme Court verdict to publish the NEET PG answer key . Then why was the NEET PG 2025 answer key not released before the results? In NEET UG, the answer key is published first and then results are declared. Why this policy variation?”

NBEMS’ clarification and U-turn

On August 21, the NBEMS initially announced it would upload response sheets of all candidates along with the answer key and questions. However, it later revised its notification, stating that it would only publish question IDs.

This sudden U-turn drew sharp criticism from aspirants, who argued that releasing only question IDs defeats the purpose of cross-verification. Doctors’ groups have even proposed a structured format for publishing the answer key, but NBEMS has so far maintained silence, intensifying the frustration of candidates.