The Supreme Court has issued notices on a batch of petitions challenging the transparency of the NEET-PG 2025 examination, particularly regarding the disclosure of answer keys and evaluation procedures.

A Bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan directed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to respond within two weeks. However, the judges expressed surprise that only 20 candidates had approached the court out of more than two lakh who appeared for the exam on August 3.

“Out of two lakh students, why do only a handful have complaints?” Justice Pardiwala asked during the proceedings.

Petitioners’ counsel clarified that the aim was not to stall the counselling process but emphasized that withholding answer keys could adversely impact a large number of candidates. The pleas argued that the new mechanism for releasing answer keys was “opaque, unintelligible and incapable of meaningful verification,” and sought directions to allow candidates to challenge disputed questions and ensure transparent evaluation in future exams.

Justice Pardiwala urged candidates to focus on their academics rather than litigation. “You should get out of all this litigation. Concentrate on your studies… stand on your own merit,” he said.

Earlier, the court had mandated that the NEET-PG 2025 exam be conducted in a single shift instead of two, stating, “Necessary arrangements must be made to ensure complete transparency and secure examination centres,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath had directed.