Supreme Court Directs NEET-PG 2025 Exam Be Conducted In One Shift

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said holding National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Post Graduate (NEET-PG) 2025 examination in two shifts will give rise to arbitrariness and does not give level playing platform to all the candidates, as two question papers cannot be of same difficulty and ease, as it directed that the examination should be conducted in a single shift.

The matter was heard by a three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and N V Anjaria. The bench directed the authorities concerned to make arrangements for holding the exam in one shift and to ensure that complete transparency is maintained. The respondents in the matter were: the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences, the National Medical Council, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Union of India.

The bench noted that last year, the examination was held in two shifts and a process called normalisation was applied. The bench said the examining body should have considered holding the examination in one-shift.

The bench noted that primarily two grounds have been taken by the respondents in holding the exam in two shifts: the number of candidates who appear in the examination are too large and it is difficult for the examining body to find secure centres to hold examination in one shift; and the second, if examinations are held in one shift, then unscrupulous elements may get involved and there could be malpractices.

The bench noted that the total number of candidates who have applied for the examination is over 2 Lakh, and the examination is held all over the country and not in one city.

Justice Nath said the court is not ready to accept, against the backdrop of technological advancement, that the examining body could not find enough centres to hold the exam in one shift. "Holding an examination in two shifts creates arbitrariness and also all candidates do not take the examination at the same level", said the bench. The bench said, "Normalisation can be applied in exceptional cases and not in a routine manner year after year”.

The bench said the examination for this year is scheduled for June 15, 2025, and the examination body has two weeks to identify more centres to hold the examination in one shift.

The bench directed the respondents to ensure that complete transparency is maintained and secured centres are identified.

The respondents argued that even if the examining body makes an effort to identify more centres, then it may require more time, which may result in the delay holding the examination and the counselling and admissions will also be delayed, which would not be in line with the timeline fixed by the apex court. The apex court refused to accept this argument by the respondents.

"Let the matter be listed on July 14, 2025", said the bench. The respondents' counsel argued that identifying more centres would not be complete till June 15. The bench asked the counsel to apply for extension of time and added, “Identify centres and pay for it, if you do not want to spend money that is a different thing”.

The bench made it clear if the concerned authorities seek more time, they should ask for it, and file an affidavit and an application. “The court will consider your request. It would be open for respondents to apply for extension of time, if they find that they are not able to identify the required number of centres”, said the bench.

Justice Kumar said, "The easy way out is to burn midnight oil and try to find the centres. You did it last year and by now you should have come up with a solution. How is it a fair process to have two shifts?”. Justice Kant observed, "Why did you not look for enough centres and identify them to hold the exam in one shift”.

The apex court noted that the other relief claimed in the petition regarding the disclosure of answer sheets and the question paper of the examination would be considered later.

Petitioner Aditi, who goes by one name, and others claimed that conducting the exam in two shifts has the potential for unfairness due to varying difficulty levels between the shifts. The petitioners sought a direction from the apex court to the NBE to conduct the exam in a single shift to maintain “just, fair, reasonable and equitable” grounds of competition for all the candidates.

On May 5, the top court had sought a response from the NBE, National Medical Council and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the plea.

The NEET-PG, 2025, was scheduled on June 15 in two shifts on a computer-based platform. Its results will be declared by July 15. On May 22, the apex court, in another plea, issued directions to stop seat-blocking in NEET-PG counselling and publish raw scores, answer keys, and normalisation formulae of the exam.