Supreme Court to Examine NEET PG 2025 Qualifying Percentile Reduction

Context of the Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has announced its intention to evaluate the implications of the significant decrease in the qualifying percentile for the NEET PG 2025 examination on the quality of postgraduate medical education. This comes despite the Union Government’s assertion that NEET PG is not an entry-level examination akin to the MBBS and that candidates taking it are already licensed doctors.

Government’s Defense

Recently, the Union Government defended its stance in front of the Supreme Court, clarifying that NEET-PG does not serve to certify minimum competency—which is established through the MBBS qualification—but functions as a filtering mechanism for the allocation of limited postgraduate seats.

The Division Bench, comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe, expressed their concerns about the potential negative impact on medical education quality. They stated, “Adversely affecting the quality of education is what we are more concerned about than anything. More than anything, it is about the quality. You will have to satisfy us that the reduction of the cutoff so drastically, virtually bringing it to zero and non-existence… This is like a post-graduation. It stands on a different footing because those who apply are already doctors. But still in the context of competition, we will have to reflect.”

Petitions and Affidavits

The Bench was reviewing petitions that challenge a notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on January 13, 2026, which lowered the minimum qualifying percentile for the NEET-PG 2025 counseling’s third round. In its earlier affidavit, the Union Government stated that NEET-PG is meant to generate a merit list for allocating limited postgraduate seats, rather than certifying competence.

During the court session, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati explained that the decision to reduce the percentile was made due to the number of vacant postgraduate seats. She reiterated that NEET-PG is designed to compare candidates for limited seat allocation.

Concerns Over Fee Disparity

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioners, raised concerns regarding the significant fee disparities between government and private medical colleges. He noted that while fees in government institutions range from Rs 9,000 to Rs 27,000, private colleges charge between Rs 95 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore. He argued that although approximately 1.3 lakh candidates qualify up to the 50th percentile, many cannot secure seats in private colleges due to high fees and urged regulators to impose a cap on these costs.

In response, Bhati informed the Court that regulations from the National Medical Commission state that fees in private colleges cannot exceed 50 percent more than those charged in government colleges within the same state. Sankaranarayanan contended that private colleges might be violating these regulations.

Court’s Consideration

Justice PS Narasimha remarked that while the Union Government’s argument that NEET-PG is not an entry-level exam is valid, the Court must still assess the implications of such a drastic cut-off reduction.

The Court scheduled the next hearing for March 24, 2026.

Details from the Centre’s Affidavit

The Centre’s affidavit indicated that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission decided to lower the percentile cut-off to address the anticipated number of vacant seats. It emphasized that all NEET-PG candidates are licensed MBBS doctors who undergo postgraduate training under senior faculty supervision. Final competencies are evaluated at the end of the MD/MS course, where candidates must secure at least 50% marks in theory and practical exams independently.

The affidavit also noted that the reduction of the percentile would allow an additional 100,054 candidates to be eligible for the third round, increasing the total eligible candidates to 228,170. For the 2025–26 academic session, about 70,000 postgraduate seats are available, with 224,029 candidates having taken the exam. Among the 31,742 All-India Quota seats, 9,621 remained vacant after Round 2, including 5,213 seats in government medical colleges and DNB institutions.

The Centre reiterated that eligibility for NEET-PG requires a recognized MBBS degree and completion of a compulsory internship, stating that negative marking could lead to low scores, which do not accurately reflect clinical competence.

Historical Context

The Union highlighted that reductions in the qualifying percentile have occurred since NEET-PG’s inception in 2017 to prevent seat wastage. In the 2023 academic year, the qualifying percentile was also reduced to zero across categories. Furthermore, the Union asserted that policy matters fall outside the scope of judicial review unless they are shown to be manifestly arbitrary, mala fide, or in violation of statutory or constitutional provisions.

In conclusion, the affidavit stated that vacant postgraduate seats represent a significant national investment in infrastructure, faculty, and healthcare facilities. Leaving these seats unfilled would lead to wastage of public resources and negatively impact patient care and healthcare delivery.

Background of NEET PG 2025

On January 13, 2026, the NBE issued a notice reducing the minimum qualifying percentile cut-off for the third round of NEET-PG 2025-2026 for various candidate categories. The revised qualifying cut-offs for the academic session 2025-2026 are as follows: General/EWS, General PwBD, and SC/ST/OBC (including PwBD of SC/ST/OBC) categories now have qualifying cut-offs at the 7th, 5th, and 0th percentiles, respectively, translating to scores of 103, 90, and -40.

Petitioners have approached the Supreme Court seeking to annul the NBEMS notification and restore minimum qualifying standards in postgraduate medical education, arguing against the “arbitrary and unprecedented reduction of qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025–26, including zero and negative scores.”

On February 6, the Supreme Court directed the NBEMS to provide an affidavit explaining the reasoning behind the sharp percentile reduction. The NBE clarified in its counter-affidavit on February 18 that it did not have a role in deciding the cut-off changes, attributing the decision to the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission (NMC). The NBE’s responsibilities are limited to conducting the NEET-PG exam and preparing results for the counseling authority.