SC seeks NBE's response on plea for transparency in NEET-PG selection process

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the National Board of Education on a plea seeking disclosure of answer keys and question papers of NEET-PG 2024, held on August 11, for ensuring transparency in the selection process.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra took note of a plea filed by MBBS doctor Ishika Jain and others, seeking disclosure of answer keys and other measures to ensure increased transparency.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post-Graduation (NEET-PG) is conducted for admissions in courses after MBBS and BDS.

The results, which were announced by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) on August 23, have led to concerns among students over unexpectedly low rankings.

After comparing the scores with unofficial answer keys, many students raised suspicion about discrepancies in the ranking process and urged the NBE to release official answer keys and set up a grievance portal to address the issues.

Senior advocate Vibha Makhija, appearing for Jain and others, said the NBE had not released either the question papers or the answer keys and, without knowing the correct answers, the candidates would not be able to assess their performances in a transparent way.

The bench, which initially asked her to approach Delhi High Court, later issued the notice to the NBE on the plea and fixed it for hearing on September 20.

The plea alleged lack of transparency and arbitrary last-minute changes in NEET-PG 2024.