The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking to halt NEET PG 2025 counselling, but agreed to hear arguments on the larger issue of transparency in the exam process next week.

The petition, filed by NEET PG aspirants, challenged the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for rolling back its initial promise to release the complete set of exam questions along with the answer key.

Instead, NBEMS issued a corrective notice, stating that only “question IDs” would be shared — a move that triggered protests from students and medical associations who called the format unverifiable.

During the hearing, the bench pressed the petitioners to explain why they believed the process lacked transparency. “Is it because you got less marks?” the court asked, cautioning against what it described as a growing trend of candidates invoking Article 32 petitions to challenge exam procedures.

Aspirants, however, argued that without access to the full set of questions, cross-checking the answer key was impossible. The court has now directed respondents to file complete paperwork before the next hearing.

Over 2.42 lakh candidates appeared for NEET PG this year, conducted on August 3 across 301 cities and 1,052 centres. The case has drawn attention as it marks the first time NBEMS attempted to introduce an official answer key — only to partially roll it back, raising questions of credibility in one of India’s most competitive medical entrance exams.