NEET PG Counselling 2025: 95,913 More Eligible After Cut-Off Cut, NBEMS Tells SC It Had No Role

NBEMS tells SC that 95,913 more candidates became eligible after NEET PG 2025 cut-off reduction; says it only implemented orders.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has informed the Supreme Court that the recent reduction in the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying percentile has made 95,913 more candidates eligible for counselling. The Board cautioned that any judicial intervention at this stage could directly impact these newly eligible aspirants. 

In its affidavit responding to petitions challenging the lowered cut-off, NBEMS stated that the pool of qualified candidates rose sharply from 1,28,116 under the earlier criteria to 2,24,029 after the revision. “It is ex-facie apparent that pursuant to the lowering of cut off 95,913 additional candidates have now become eligible to participate in the counselling for NEET PG 2025,” the Board submitted. 

NBEMS Says It Only Implemented Directions 

The Board emphasised that it had no role in deciding on the revised qualifying percentile. According to its counter-affidavit, NBEMS functions are limited to conducting the examination, evaluating answer sheets, and forwarding results to the designated counselling authority the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). 

It maintained that the decision to lower the cut-off was taken by the competent authorities, and NBEMS merely complied with official instructions. 

How the Cut-Off Revision Was Carried Out 

As per the submission, the Union Health Ministry informed NBEMS on January 9 that the qualifying percentile for the third round of NEET PG counselling 2025–26 had been reduced and directed the Board to publish revised results. NBEMS said it issued the notification on January 13 and shared the updated results with the MCC the same day. 

Under the revised norms, candidates with scores as low as minus 40 out of 800 became eligible to participate in counseling. The minimum qualifying percentile for Unreserved candidates was reduced from the 50th percentile to the 7th percentile. For Unreserved Persons with Disabilities candidates, it was lowered to the 5th percentile, while for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes candidates, the percentile was reduced to zero.  

Vacant PG Seats Prompted Policy Shift 

Authorities moved to relax the eligibility threshold after more than 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remained vacant nationwide. The aim was to widen the eligible pool and ensure better seat utilisation in subsequent counselling rounds. 

NBEMS told the court that any order in the present writ petitions would affect thousands of candidates who are not parties before the court, arguing that this alone is sufficient ground for dismissal. 

Matter Likely Before Supreme Court Bench Next Week 

The case is expected to come up next week before a Bench led by Justice P S Narasimha. NBEMS has also cited an earlier High Court ruling that found no arbitrariness in lowering the percentile and observed that admission ultimately depends on merit during seat allocation. 

The Supreme Court will now examine whether recalibrating the eligibility threshold after results have been declared is legally sustainable and whether such a move affects fairness in a high-stakes national examination process. 

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