Plea in SC against new disclosure mechanism of answer keys in NEET-PG

New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS) A group of NEET-PG 2025 aspirants have filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court challenging a “corrective notice” issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on August 21.

The petitioners, who are qualified doctors, claimed that the new disclosure mechanism of answer keys is “opaque, unintelligible and incapable of meaningful verification.”

The corrective notice amended NBEMS’s earlier circular and mandated that candidate responses and answer keys would be displayed only with reference to 'Question ID Numbers' from a master set of the question paper.

Since the exam was conducted with shuffled sequencing of questions and options, the petitioners argued that this format deprives them of a “clear and candidate-wise mapped view of the questions actually attempted by them”.

“It frustrates the very object of publishing answer keys and responses, which is to enable candidates to cross-check their answers, raise objections against discrepancies, and ensure transparency in evaluation of a high-stakes national examination,” stated the petition.

It further contended that the Question-ID-only system renders the disclosure “illusory and non-verifiable” and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution by denying candidates a fair and transparent admission process.

The plea, filed by advocate Satyam Singh, emphasised that candidates are not seeking re-evaluation of answer sheets but their grievance is confined to the manner and format of disclosure.

The plea demanded that the disclosure must include: “(i) The questions in the order actually attempted, (ii) the candidate’s responses, (iii) the official correct answers, and (iv) the marks awarded.”

Referring to previous judicial directions on transparency in NEET-PG evaluations, the petition noted that the Supreme Court had earlier directed disclosure of raw scores, answer keys, and the normalisation formula.

The petition also highlights that other competitive examinations such as IIT-JEE, CLAT, and AIIMS INI-CET follow candidate-wise response disclosure practices.

With a large number of medical graduates competing for limited postgraduate seats, the petitioners contended that unless corrective directions are issued by the apex court, the “sanctity of NEET-PG will remain compromised.”

The plea sought a declaration that the NBEMS corrective notice is unconstitutional to the extent it mandates only Question ID-based disclosure without candidate-wise sequence, and further seeks directions to publish actual questions as seen by each candidate, corresponding correct answer key and responses marked along with a reasonable mechanism to raise objections.

--IANS

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