SC notice to Centre on plea challenging NBEMS’s decision to reduce NEET PG cut-off percentile

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) sought response from the Center and others on a plea challenging the decision of the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to drastically reduce the applicable cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025-26.

The Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notices to Union of India, NBEMS, National Medical Commission and others. The matter was adjourned to the next hearing on February 6.

While more than 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remain vacant across the country, the Board has revised the eligible percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 admissions, reducing them from 40 percent to zero for reserved categories; This will enable even those who score as low as minus 40 out of 800 to appear in the third round of counseling for PG medical seats.

According to the notification issued by NBEMS, the NEET PG limit for general category has been reduced from 50 percent to seven percent.

The top court heard social worker Harisharan Devgan, Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal and Dr. He was hearing a plea filed by Akash Soni, who argued that the reduction of deduction was in violation of Articles 14 and 21.

The plea argued that the eligibility criteria cannot be changed after the commencement of the selection process as candidates prepare, compete and make career choices based on the cut-offs initially notified.

The petition states that PG medical education cannot be treated as a commercial practice and regulatory authorities must prevent dilution of standards.

Various sections of the medical community have termed NBEMS’s decision to drastically reduce the cut-off percentile for candidates in all categories for NEET-PG 2025-26 as “unprecedented and unreasonable”.