NEET-PG 2024: Supreme Court Seeks NBE's Response on Petition for Disclosure of Answer Keys

The Supreme Court, on September 13, 2024, called upon the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to respond to a writ petition demanding the release of answer keys and question papers for the NEET-PG 2024 exam. The petition also sought additional measures to ensure transparency in the examination process.

Senior Advocate Vibha Makhija, representing the petitioners, highlighted that NBE had not made the question papers or answer keys available to candidates. She emphasized that without access to the correct answers, candidates are unable to evaluate their performance transparently. Furthermore, Makhija pointed out discrepancies in the scorecards that were released, noting that they did not accurately reflect the candidates' performance.

She further drew attention to Clause 10.4 of the Information Bulletin, which clearly states that there is no provision for re-evaluation, re-checking, or re-totaling of responses, leaving candidates with no option for redress.

The NEET-PG 2024 exam was held on August 11, and the results were announced on August 23. The counseling process is set to begin on September 20.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard the petition and ordered that NBE be served with a copy of the petition. The bench agreed to consider the matter next Friday and granted permission for the petitioners to serve the standing counsel.

The petitioners have raised concerns about a lack of transparency and arbitrary changes made at the last minute regarding the exam's format. According to the plea, one month before the scheduled date, the exam was converted into a two-session format with separate papers for each session. This decision contradicts the NBE's guidelines, which stipulate that the NEET-PG exam should be a single common examination.

The plea elaborated on the lack of transparency, arguing that none of the documents that would allow candidates to verify their performance—such as the question paper, the response sheet filled by candidates, or the answer key—were provided. Instead, candidates only received a scorecard, along with sections indicating which questions they had answered correctly or incorrectly. Upon reviewing their scorecards, many candidates identified discrepancies in the number of questions they had attempted, which differed from what was reflected in the issued scorecards.

The petition contends that this raises fundamental concerns about the fairness of the examination process. Moreover, the petitioners argue that the NBE has been given too much unchecked power in conducting the exam without sufficient oversight or balance.

Another grievance raised in the petition relates to a new method for normalizing scores. The normalization process, based on a system used at AIIMS, was applied to calculate the scores for candidates who appeared in Sessions 1 and 2. However, the petitioners argue that this method is arbitrary, as it creates two distinct groups of candidates without a clear rationale. The normalization procedure, including tie-breaking down to the seventh decimal, has drastically altered the expected rankings for many candidates. According to the petitioners, the normalization system has caused many candidates' ranks to cluster at specific decimal points, which would not have occurred if actual marks had been counted. As a result, specializations may be exhausted based on superficial criteria that do not accurately reflect the best-qualified candidates.

The Supreme Court will continue to hear this matter on September 20, as it seeks further clarification from the NBE.

Official Website:-  https://nbe.edu.in/ 

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