This came after the Board requested a postponement of the originally scheduled date of June 15, citing serious concerns about holding the exam in two shifts.
NEW DELHI: Today, 6th June: In a major decision regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate medical courses (NEET PG 2025), the Supreme Court of India on Thursday allowed the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the exam on August 3.
ALSO READ: Breaking: NEET PG 2025 Postponed: Supreme Court Orders Single-Shift Exam for Fairness
This came after the Board requested a postponement of the originally scheduled date of June 15, citing serious concerns about holding the exam in two shifts.
A bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Augustine George Masih approved the National Board of Examinations’ (NBE) request to extend the NEET exam date, allowing it to be held by August 3, 2025.
The bench asked:
“Why do you need two more months? This will delay the entire admission process.”
In reply, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, representing the Centre, explained that the delay was due to logistical challenges. He informed the court that high-level meetings had been conducted to evaluate the issues, and several difficulties were found — such as doubling the number of examination centres and tightening security.
“Even a minor lapse could have serious implications,” said Nataraj, emphasizing the need to conduct the exam smoothly and securely.
Justice Mishra underlined that the integrity and safety of the examination process were more important than the date on which it is held.
At the same time, the court pulled up the NBE for inaction since the last order. The bench reminded the exam body that the court had already permitted the exam to be conducted in one shift on May 30, and asked:
“What have you done since then?”
Responding to this, the NBE stated that the additional time was being taken to protect the interest of students:
“We do not want to compromise the examination in any way.”
The National Board of Examinations (NBE) today requested more time to conduct the NEET PG 2025 exam, stating that organising the test in a single shift would require nearly double the number of exam centres.
“We will need double centres to conduct the exam in one shift. Identification, assessing security parameters etc will take time. We have highlighted other reasons in our application which is why the exam needs to be conducted on August 3,” the NBE’s counsel informed the Court.
Taking note of these concerns, the Supreme Court agreed to the request.
“Interim application has been filed seeking rescheduling the NEET PG examination to August 3. Reference has been made to various communications between the respondents and their technological partner TCS talking about the extensive measures required to prepare the technological paraphrasing of the centres. Respondent No. 1 is permitted to hold the exam on August 3, 2025. No further extension shall be granted,” the Court said in its order.
Justices JB Pardiwala and Sanjay Karol, also part of the bench, raised the concern for exam integrity. They said the court does not want any compromise when it comes to conducting the test.
Earlier, the NBE had approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to hold the NEET PG in a single shift on a new date, which is now confirmed as August 3, 2025.
This came after the Supreme Court’s intervention last Friday, where it strongly opposed holding the exam in two shifts, arguing that such a system could create inequality in difficulty levels across sessions. The court said this would unfairly affect candidates and stressed that:
A uniform examination must be conducted in a single session across the country to ensure fairness and transparency.
Background
The matter reached the Supreme Court after a petition was filed by the United Doctors Front, challenging the NBE’s decision to hold the exam in two shifts. The petitioners contended that multiple shifts would lead to unequal conditions for students, potentially giving some an advantage.
In its earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the NBE and sought their response, leading to this week’s follow-up hearing.
The court had also made it clear in that earlier order that if the NBE required more time to prepare for a single-shift exam, it could come back to the court for permission to reschedule. That is exactly what the NBE did — and now, with the court’s approval, NEET PG 2025 will be held in one shift on August 3.
Case Title:
Aditi & Ors v. National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences & Ors, W.P. No. 456/2025
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