NEET PG Latest News
The Supreme Court has directed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to file an affidavit clarifying the rationale behind the reduction of the qualifying cut-off percentile for NEET PG 2025–26. The directive came while the court was hearing a petition that challenges NBEMS’s notification dated January 13, which announced the reduction in the cut-off scores.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe. During the proceedings, Justice Narasimha observed that the issue involves competing interests that must be carefully weighed and balanced.
Supreme Court Observations on Cut-Off Reduction
During the hearing, Justice Narasimha remarked that the case presents conflicting considerations that require equilibrium. “On one hand, there is a concern that medical seats should not remain vacant. On the other hand, there is pressure to reduce the cut-off because candidates are not qualifying,” he stated.
He further explained that while one argument suggests that reducing the cut-off leads to dilution of academic standards, the counter-argument highlights that valuable seats are going unfilled. “Somewhere, a balance has to be struck,” Justice Narasimha added. The bench also indicated that the Court would assess whether the decision taken by NBEMS was “drastically wrong.”
NEET PG 2025 Qualifying Cut-Off Details
As per the notification issued on January 13, 2026, NBEMS lowered the minimum qualifying percentile for counselling in the third round of NEET PG 2025 across all categories. According to the notice, the qualifying cut-off for General/EWS candidateswas brought down from the 50th percentile (276 marks out of 800) to the 7th percentile (103 marks).
For General PwBD candidates, the cut-off was reduced from the 45th percentile (255 marks) to the 5th percentile (90 marks). The complete category-wise changes are given in the table below.
| Categories | Earlier Qualifying Cut off | Revised Qualifying Cut-off |
|---|---|---|
| General/EWS | 50th percentile (276/800 marks) | 7th percentile (103/800 marks) |
| General PwBD | 45th percentile (255/800 marks) | 5th percentile (90/800 marks) |
| SC/ST/OBC including PwBD | 40th percentile (235/800 marks) | 0th percentile (-40/800 marks) |
Petition Challenging January 13 Notification
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued a notice in response to a petition challenging the January 13 notification that reduced the NEET PG 2025–26 qualifying cut-off. The petition contends that the cut-off has been lowered to extremely low levels, including zero and even negative marks.
The petitioners argue that reducing qualifying standards for postgraduate medical education violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. They also claim that compromising merit at the postgraduate level is contrary to the provisions laid down under the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019.
Arguments Presented by Petitioners
Appearing for the petitioners,Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan referred to the relevant regulations which state that if an adequate number of candidates fail to secure the prescribed minimum marks in their respective categories, the Central Government, in consultation with the National Medical Commission, may lower the minimum marks at its discretion.
He pointed out that while approximately 80,000 postgraduate medical seats are available, more than1.28 lakh candidates already fall within the qualifying percentiles of 50th, 45th, or 40th percentiles across various categories, questioning the necessity of such a steep reduction in cut-off scores.