No Two Shifts: Supreme Court Directs NEET-PG 2025 To Be Conducted In Single Shift To Ensure Fairness
New Delhi: In the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate courses (NEET-PG), the Supreme Court on Thursday directed that the examination to be carried out in a single shift.
The verdict came in response to a petition challenging the National Board of Examinations’ (NBE) notification to hold NEET-PG 2025 in two separate shifts.
A three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice N V Anjaria ruled that holding the highly competitive national exam in two shifts creates a possibility of “arbitrariness” and could compromise the level playing field for candidates.
“The question papers in two shifts can never be of the same difficulty level,” the bench observed, noting that such a format inherently carries the risk of unfairness. “Last year, it may have been held in two shifts owing to the circumstances then, but moving forward, the examining body ought to ensure that the test is conducted in a single shift,” SC added.
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The direction was issued while hearing a petition filed by a candidate, Aditi, and others, who argued that the variation in difficulty levels between different shifts could negatively impact the merit rankings and the fairness of the selection process.
The petitioners also raised concerns about transparency and the normalization process used to account for the shift-based variations in difficulty.
Taking note of these concerns, the apex court not only quashed the decision to hold NEET-PG 2025 in two shifts but also asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to ensure complete transparency in administering the exam.
The court emphasised that the integrity of such a critical examination must be upheld at all levels, especially when it plays a decisive role in the medical careers of thousands of aspirants. The NEET-PG 2025 exam is scheduled to be held on June 15, with results expected to be declared on July 15, according to the current schedule.
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This ruling follows an earlier Supreme Court verdict where it directed authorities to implement stringent measures to curb seat-blocking during NEET-PG counselling. The court had also mandated the publication of raw scores, answer keys, and the formula used for normalisation to ensure transparency in results.
The judgment is being welcomed by student bodies and academic observers alike, who have long raised concerns over the disparities caused by shift-based exams and the lack of clarity in normalization procedures.
The NTA and related bodies are now tasked with reworking their logistical arrangements to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive since with just over two weeks left for the exam.
