Cut-off virtually zero: SC says Centre must justify NEET-PG 2025 percentile reduction

The court issued formal notices on a batch of petitions challenging the reduction in cut-off and posted the matter for hearing next week

The Supreme Court on Monday said the Union government will have to satisfy it that the drastic reduction in the qualifying percentile for NEET-PG 2025 counselling -- “virtually bringing it to zero”, does not compromise the quality of medical education in the country.

The Union government has defended the decision to lower the qualifying percentile. (File photo)

“You will have to satisfy us that this drastic reduction in the cut-off, virtually bringing it to zero, does not affect the quality of the education. We are concerned about the quality of the medical education,” a bench of justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe told the Centre’s counsel.

The court issued formal notices on a batch of petitions challenging the reduction in cut-off and posted the matter for hearing next week.

Senior advocates Pinki Anand, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and DS Naidu appeared for the petitioners, while Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati represented the Centre.

In its affidavit filed before the court, the Union government has defended the decision to lower the qualifying percentile, arguing that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) is not meant to certify minimum clinical competence.

The Centre emphasised that all candidates appearing for NEET-PG are already qualified MBBS doctors who have completed 4.5 years of academic training across multiple medical specialties, followed by a compulsory one-year rotating internship. To obtain the MBBS degree, candidates must secure at least 50% marks separately in theory and practical examinations.

Addressing apprehensions relating to patient safety, the affidavit contended that postgraduate training is a supervised process. “All candidates admitted to postgraduate courses are already licensed MBBS practitioners. As MBBS doctors, they are entitled to practice independently. During postgraduate training candidates function under constant supervision of senior faculty and specialists,” it states.

The Centre further highlighted that MD/MS degrees require candidates to secure at least 50% marks separately in theory and practical examinations at the exit stage, without any relaxation, thereby preserving standards at the point of certification.

The decision to reduce the percentile cut-off, the affidavit said, was taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with the National Medical Commission in view of a large number of anticipated vacant seats.

For the academic session 2025-26, around 70,000 postgraduate seats were available, while 2,24,029 candidates appeared for NEET-PG. Of the 31,742 seats under the All-India Quota, 9,621 remained vacant after Round 2 of counselling. Of these, 5,213 vacant seats were in government medical colleges, including AIQ and DNB seats.

According to the government, the reduction in percentile would make an additional 1,00,054 candidates eligible for the third round of counselling, taking the total number of eligible candidates to 2,28,170.

The affidavit stated that postgraduate medical seats represent substantial public investment in infrastructure, faculty and hospital facilities. Leaving such seats vacant would result in wastage of national resources and adversely affect specialist healthcare delivery. It added that even after reduction of percentile, seat allotment continues to be strictly on the basis of merit and candidate preference.

After completion of Round 3 of AIQ counselling, 2,988 seats remain vacant and will be available in the next round, the Centre informed the court.

The Union also pointed out that reduction of qualifying percentile is not unprecedented. Since the inception of NEET-PG in 2017, percentile reductions have been effected in appropriate circumstances to prevent seat wastage. In the academic year 2023 as well, the qualifying percentile was reduced to zero across categories.

The affidavit further said that policy decisions fall outside the scope of judicial review unless shown to be manifestly arbitrary, mala fide or violative of statutory or constitutional provisions.

Earlier, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) had filed a separate affidavit clarifying that it had no role in deciding the reduction of the qualifying percentile and that the decision to lower the cut-off, it submitted, was taken by the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with the National Medical Commission.

According to NBEMS, lowering the cut-off increased the number of qualified candidates from 1,28,116 under the earlier criteria to 2,24,029 under the revised criteria, making 95,913 additional candidates eligible to participate in counselling.

The petitions before the apex court seek quashing of the January 13, 2026 notice issued by NBEMS notifying the revised cut-off scores, restoration of minimum qualifying standards and a stay on counselling conducted pursuant to the reduced percentile. They have argued that reducing the cut-off to what they describe as abnormally low -- even zero or negative levels, amounts to an unconstitutional dilution of minimum standards in postgraduate medical education, endangering public health and violating Article 21 of the Constitution. They have pointed out that following the revision, candidates with scores as low as minus-40 out of 800 are now eligible to participate in counselling. Permitting such candidates to compete for postgraduate medical seats, they contend, undermines the regulatory framework governing professional education and compromises meritocracy.