SC Clears Single-Shift NEET-PG 2025 Exam for August 3

•  NEET-PG 2025 to be held in a single shift on August 3.
• NBE to double exam centres to ensure smooth conduct.
• Court acted on student plea citing fairness concerns.

The Supreme Court permitted the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in Medical Sciences to proceed with the NEET-PG 2025 exam on August 3 in a single shift. On May 30, however, the court had ordered the NBE not to conduct the NEET-PG exam in two shifts so as to maintain fairness and consistency.

In response to this directive, the NBE made a request on June 3 seeking further time to prepare for logistics and security. It informed the court that for a single-shift exam to be conducted, the normal limit of 450 exam centres would need to be doubled, meaning nearly 900 centres across the country, with August 3 thus being offered as a feasible date.

A bench comprising Justices P.K. Mishra and Augustine George Masih had accepted the proposal and noted that if the examination were conducted in two shifts, there could be a possibility of "arbitrariness" and unfairness as the question papers prepared for the two shifts may be different.

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The ruling came after a petition of aggrieved students stating that the multi-shift LLB would be different in nature and levels of difficulty. It also highlighted the fees of the exam charged to the candidates, i.e., ₹3,500 for the general category and ₹2,500 for the SC/ST/PwD category, hence underscoring the importance of having a level playing field for all aspirants.

In its order on May 30, the bench noted, "Therefore, they possess more than enough funds to commission sufficient number of centres so as to smoothly hold the examination in one shift… The examination for this year is scheduled to be held on June 15, 2025. Two weeks’ time is still there for the examining body to identify more centres so as to hold the examination in one shift".

"Holding the examination in two shifts would invariably enable arbitrariness and not entail at-par evaluation of the comparative merit of the candidates who take the examinations. No two question papers can ever be said to be at an identical level of difficulty or ease. There is bound to be a variation. Normalisation may be applied and adopted in exceptional circumstances but not in a routine manner year after year, especially when the number of candidates is not unduly large, as is the case presently".