The Supreme Court has asked the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to file an affidavit explaining its stand on publishing NEET-PG answer keys. The move comes after petitions seeking greater transparency in the medical entrance exam evaluation process.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday asked the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to make its policy clear on the publication of answer keys for the NEET-PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test–Postgraduate) exams.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Vipul Pancholi directed the NBE to file an affidavit explaining its stand on whether or not it plans to release the answer keys.
The direction came while hearing a group of petitions raising several issues related to the NEET-PG examination process, especially regarding transparency and fairness in the evaluation system.
During the hearing, the counsel representing the NBE opposed the disclosure of the answer keys.
The lawyer claimed that
“these petitions are being pushed by the coaching institutes as they want to get hold of the answer keys for the question booklets.”
The counsel further argued that releasing the answer keys publicly could
“compromise the quality of the examination.”
The petitions before the apex court seek greater transparency in the NEET-PG examination system, including the publication of answer keys, raw scores, and the normalisation formula used to calculate final results.
Earlier, on September 26, another bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan had issued notices to both the Central Government and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) regarding these petitions.
That bench had also sought a response from the authorities on the demand to make the NEET-PG answer keys public to ensure openness in the evaluation process.
The issue of transparency in NEET-PG has been a recurring concern among candidates. Previously, aspirants had no access to answer keys or their raw score details, which raised doubts about how their marks were being calculated and whether the normalisation process used was fair.
In an earlier hearing on April 29, the Supreme Court had directed that for maintaining fairness, raw scores, answer keys, and the normalisation formula should be made public. This was seen as a step toward improving the credibility and transparency of the NEET-PG examination system.
With the latest order, the Supreme Court has now asked the NBE to come clean and disclose its official policy regarding the publication of answer keys.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling: Tenant Can Never Become Owner of Rented Property
The affidavit to be filed will clarify whether the NBE intends to maintain secrecy around the question papers and answer keys or move toward a more transparent system as demanded by several petitioners and students.
The case will next be heard after the NBE submits its affidavit, and the Supreme Court’s final ruling is expected to set an important precedent for transparency in national-level competitive medical examinations like NEET-PG.
Case Title:
MEGHRAJ ROY Vs NATIONAL BOARD OF EXAMINATION IN MEDICAL SCIENCES|W.P.(C) No. 851/2025 Diary No. 48426 / 2025
Click Here to Read More Reports on NEET-PG
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
