NEET PG Rescheduled, Supreme Court Approves Extension | NEW DATE

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to hold the NEET-PG 2025 exam on August 3. This comes on the heels of a previous order by the apex court ordering the examination to be conducted in one shift, rejecting the two-shift scheme as ‘arbitrary’.

The vacation bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and A.G. Masih passed the order in response to NBEMS’ application for extension of time to implement the single-shift requirement. Scheduled to be held on June 15, the exam could not be conducted as scheduled for reasons of logistics involved in conducting a single-shift exam for more than 2.4 lakh candidates spread over more than 250 cities.

NBEMS Discusses Logistical Issues

Answering for NBEMS, Advocate Kirtiman Singh told the court that the Board had at the beginning organized 450 centres for a two-shift examination. But in order to honor the court’s order, the Board now needed more than 1,000 well-equipped and secure test centres capable of accommodating all candidates in a single shift. Such centres would require strong Wi-Fi, hardware support, power backup, as well as strong anti-cheating infrastructure.

Upon consultations with its technical partner Tata Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. (TCS), NBEMS informed that scheduling a mass, single-shift exam would not be possible prior to August 3. TCS also highlighted that reopening test centre selection for candidates and reprinting admit cards would lead to further delays.

SC Reviews and Approves Rescheduling

On reviewing the documents submitted, the bench observed:
“After reviewing the papers, we are content that the prayer for extension of time up to August 3 is bonafide. Consequentially, the period granted by our order dated May 30 to hold NEET-PG 2025 is extended. The respondent can conduct the examination on August 3.”

But the court made it clear that this would be the sole extension and emphasized that there would be no further delay. While conveying the order, the bench also raised an eyebrow over the delay having any effect on the academic calendar.

“The time period you are requesting is too long. It would impact the admission process. Students have been waiting for this examination for a long time. Their admissions will be delayed,” the bench noted.

Court Criticizes TCS and Exam Planning

The court also raised a question mark over TCS’s readiness, saying, “TCS knows all the examination centres and their compliance status. They just have to identify and assign the centres accordingly.”

At this juncture, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, assured the court that the August 3 date was settled after taking top-level consultations into consideration, considering logistical and security requirements.

“There are practical challenges in holding the exam prior to this date. The number of centres must be doubled and substantial security arrangements have to be made. Our aim is to rule out any chance of disruption,” he added.

The bench concurred, observing, “We also don’t want any problem to take place.” While the ASG was willing to reconsider an earlier date, the court concluded by saying, “We are allowing you time till August 3.”

The court in its previous order on May 30 had decided in favor of NEET-PG aspirants who had petitioned the court stating that having the exam in two shifts introduced an element of unfairness. They had presented examples from last year where the evening paper was said to be easier than the morning session.

The court had then decreed, “Two shifts introduce arbitrariness and do not permit students to attempt the exam at the same level. Two shifts are not fair. Two examination papers will always have differences.”

Whereas NBEMS justified the two-shift model as a protective measure against malpractice and demanded strict observance of the academic calendar, the court kept the door open for the Board to seek an extension, which culminated in Friday’s ruling.

What does the TCS Report Say?

As per NBEMS’s submission, an examination conducted in a single shift on June 15 would have needed over 1,000 compliant test centers and over 60,000 staff, including invigilators, system handlers, network engineers, and security personnel. TCS, in its report, also approximated that more than 2,000 local servers would be required, depending on hardware supply chains.

TCS also published compulsory technical requirements for participating test centres: secure premises, three-tier power supply backup, sound network infrastructure, trained personnel, and integrity systems to avoid malpractice.

Taking cues from earlier years, the report highlighted that NEET-PG 2022 was held at 849 centres for approximately 2.06 lakh candidates and NEET-PG 2023 utilized 902 centres for more than 2.09 lakh candidates, both held in a single shift. The two-shift pattern saw introduction only last year.

With the approval of the Supreme Court, NEET-PG 2025 will now be conducted on August 3 in a single-shift mode, mirroring the court’s thrust on fairness and integrity in competitive exams.