Hold NEET-PG exam in single shift instead of two: Supreme Court to NBE

According to a LiveLaw report, the court in its ruling said that conducting the exam in two shifts creates arbitrariness, adding that NBE should make arrangements to hold it in a single shift

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the National Board of Examination (NBE) to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Post Graduate (NEET-PG) 2025 exam in one shift, instead of two shifts.

 

According to a LiveLaw report, the SC in its ruling said that conducting the exam in two shifts creates "arbitrariness", adding that NBE should make necessary arrangements to hold the exam in a single shift and to ensure transparency.

 

The court in its order stated, "Holding examination in two shifts creates arbitrariness and also does not keep all the candidates at the same level. Any two question papers can ever be said to be of an identical level of difficulty or ease. There has to be a variation."

 

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath noted that there is still some time left to make necessary arrangements for the exam, which is scheduled to be held on June 15. 

 

The court rejected the argument made by NBE that there are not enough centres to hold the exam in a single shift. The apex court ruled, "The exam is to be held all over the country, not just in one city. We are not ready to accept that in the entire country, and considering the technological advancements in this country, the examining body could not find enough centres to hold the examination in one shift."

 

The order was passed by a three-judge bench while it was hearing petitions challenging NBE's decision to conduct NEET-PG 2025 in two shifts. 

 

When questioned why the exam for NEET-PG has to be conducted in two shifts, when the same is not the case for NEET-UG, which has more applicants, NBE stated, "The exam is held online. In 2024, NEET UG had to be cancelled due to malpractice. For the online exam, there are limited centres. All important examinations in which a large number of candidates appear are held like this." 

 

Petitioners' counsel argued in the court that the double-shift exam gives priority to "luck" over "merit". It further claimed that conducting the exam in two shifts violates the rights of the candidates under Article 14 of the Constitution. The plea also referred to the 2024 NEET-PG exam, which was conducted in two shifts and resulted in a case before the apex court.