The NEET-PG 2026 answer key transparency plea will not be heard on its own: the Supreme Court has tagged it with matters already pending on the same question, with the Bench calling it an “unnecessary petition”.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 15, declined to take up separately a writ petition by the Democratic Medical Association seeking fuller disclosure of NEET-PG 2026 results, including candidates’ response sheets, the actual questions and options they saw, and the official answer key, and directed that it be tagged with connected matters already before it [Plea by Democratic Medical Association on NEET-PG 2026 answer key disclosure].
The plea came up before a Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe.
A short hearing, and a tag
Counsel for the Association told the Bench that the Court was already considering disclosure and transparency in another petition. On NEET-PG questions and answers, counsel submitted, candidates are only shown identification numbers, and these do not let a student work out which answer an ID stands for.
Justice Narasimha responded that whether the present disclosure format is justified is already being examined in the connected matters, and described the plea as an “unnecessary petition”. The Court then ordered that it be heard along with the other pending cases. No notice on the merits or interim direction was recorded at this stage.
What the Association is challenging
NEET-PG 2026 was held on August 30, and results were declared on September 24. On October 1, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) issued a notice allowing candidates to view a question-wise evaluation through their own logins.
According to the petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, that view is confined to Question IDs, numerical answer and response IDs, and the marks given for each question. The Association contends that because candidates sit a shuffled paper, these numbers alone do not let them check which question they answered, what the options were, or whether their score was computed correctly.
The reliefs sought
The Association asks the Court to quash the October 1 notice to the extent it limits disclosure to numerical identifiers. It wants NBEMS to give every candidate, through the individual login, a full record showing each question in the order it appeared, the options in the candidate’s own sequence, the response recorded, the correct answer under the final key and the marks awarded, with a downloadable copy.
It further seeks a time-bound window to raise objections to specific questions, a subject-expert committee to decide those objections, correction of scores and ranks wherever errors are found, and guidelines for transparent post-exam disclosure in future postgraduate medical entrance examinations.
ALSO READ: NEET-PG Eligibility Row: Supreme Court Tags Fresh Plea with Main Case, Hearing on Monday
Where this leaves candidates
Tagging means the Association’s prayers will be considered together with the earlier challenges rather than in a separate track. The contentions in the petition remain the petitioners’ own; NBEMS has not yet placed its response on record in this plea, and the Court has not ruled on whether the October 1 disclosure format is lawful.
Case Title: Plea by Democratic Medical Association and others on NEET-PG 2026 answer key disclosure (cause title and case number not reported)
Bench: Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: October 15, 2026
Appearances: Not reported