Why The Centre Has Formed A 12-Member Committee To Review NEET PG | Education and Career News
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The committee, headed by the DGHS, has been formed to conduct a comprehensive internal audit of the NEET PG admission process and suggest practical improvements.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told SC that the committee includes 12 members, with the DGHS serving as chairman. (File Photo)
The Centre has constituted a 12-member high-powered committee to review the existing system of admission through the NEET PG examination after concerns were raised over the reduction in the qualifying percentile cut-off for NEET PG 2025.
The government informed the Supreme Court that the committee, headed by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), has been formed to conduct a comprehensive internal audit of the NEET-PG admission process and suggest practical improvements, reported PTI.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe was hearing a series of petitions challenging the reduction in the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying cut-off. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court that the committee was constituted through a notification dated July 23 and includes 12 members, with the DGHS serving as chairman.
The committee’s terms of reference include developing a mechanism for auditing the existing NEET admission system, identifying gaps and shortcomings, and recommending implementable solutions. The Supreme Court has granted the panel eight weeks to submit its report.
The court also stated that the committee may include members from the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the National Commission for Homeopathy (NCH) if required.
The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over whether the sharp reduction in the NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying marks could affect the standards of postgraduate medical education. While acknowledging the Centre’s argument that NEET-PG is not an entrance test for MBBS and candidates appearing for it are already qualified doctors, the court said it would examine the impact of lowering the cut-off.
The petitions challenging the reduction were filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan, Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal and Dr Akash Soni. They argued that reducing the qualifying percentile violated constitutional provisions, including Articles 14 and 21.
The challenge relates to a January 13 notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), through which the minimum qualifying percentile for the third round of NEET-PG 2025-26 counselling was reduced.
The Centre, in its affidavit before the Supreme Court, defended the decision, stating that percentile reductions in NEET-PG have taken place earlier as well to prevent vacant seats. It said the qualifying percentile was reduced to zero across categories in the 2023 academic year.
The government argued that NEET-PG scores reflect relative performance and examination patterns and should not be treated as a measure of clinical competence. It maintained that the purpose of the examination is to prepare a merit list for allocating limited postgraduate medical seats, while minimum medical competence is already established through the MBBS qualification.
For the 2025-26 academic session, around 70,000 postgraduate medical seats were available for approximately 2,24,029 candidates. The Centre stated that after the second round of counselling, 9,621 seats under the All-India Quota remained vacant, including 5,213 seats in government medical colleges.
The government said the reduction in the percentile was aimed at preventing large-scale seat vacancies and was not intended to benefit private medical institutions.
It also submitted that courts generally avoid interfering with academic and policy decisions made by expert bodies unless such decisions are found to be arbitrary, biased, or against statutory or constitutional provisions.
Earlier, NBEMS informed the Supreme Court that after the cut-off reduction, 95,913 additional candidates became eligible for NEET-PG 2025 counselling. The revised qualifying cut-off for the general category was reduced from the 50th percentile to the 7th percentile.
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August 05, 2026, 11:03 IST
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