Delhi High Court Dismisses PIL Challenging Lowered NEET-PG 2025 Cut-Off Marks
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that contested the government's decision to reduce the qualifying cut-off marks for NEET PG 2025 admissions to postgraduate medical courses. The petition, which raised concerns about diluting eligibility criteria and potential risks to patient safety, was rejected by a bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhayay and Justice Tejas Karia.
Court Questions Public Interest in Vacant Seats
In a significant observation, the bench questioned whether it would serve public interest to allow postgraduate medical seats to remain vacant. "Will it be in public interest to leave the seats vacant? No, we will not permit that," the court remarked. This statement underscores the court's focus on ensuring that medical education opportunities are maximized rather than left unused.
Objective of Higher Education Emphasized
The court clarified that the primary objective of higher education is to enhance skills and expertise, not to judge the overall quality of doctors. "What is the purpose of granting higher education? The purpose is to make them more skilled in an area. This examination does not ipso facto judge the quality of a doctor," the bench noted. It further observed that NEET PG merely sorts MBBS graduates—who are already qualified to practise allopathy—for admission to specialised courses, which candidates must eventually pass to obtain a degree.
Petitioner's Concerns and Government's Response
The petitioner argued that a sharp reduction in the cut-off would dilute the quality of doctors entering specialist programmes and could endanger patient safety. However, counsel for the respondent authorities submitted that existing regulations allow the cut-off to be lowered to fill vacant seats in a given academic year by expanding the pool of eligible candidates. He informed the court that thousands of postgraduate medical seats remained vacant across the country after the second round of counselling, and a reduced cut-off would enable candidates lower in the merit list to opt for streams that are otherwise less preferred.
Background on NEET-PG 2025 Cut-Off Revisions
Earlier this month, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET PG 2025-26 admissions, citing over 18,000 vacant postgraduate medical seats nationwide. The changes include:
- For reserved category candidates: The cut-off was reduced from the 40th percentile to zero, allowing even candidates with negative scores—up to minus 40 out of 800—to participate in the third round of counselling.
- For the general category: The qualifying percentile was lowered from 50 to seven, according to an NBEMS notice.
Ongoing Legal Challenges and Broader Implications
The third round of counselling, conducted pursuant to the lowered cut-off, is currently underway. Meanwhile, a separate PIL filed in the Supreme Court last week challenges the NBEMS decision and the Medical Counselling Committee's January 13 notice lowering the thresholds to what petitioners describe as "abnormally low levels." This plea argues that the move prioritises filling vacant seats over maintaining minimum standards of merit and competence in medical education.
The petition contends that postgraduate medical education cannot be treated as a commercial exercise and warns that diluting eligibility criteria undermines the purpose of a competitive examination, with potential consequences for patient safety and public health. As the legal battles continue, this case highlights the ongoing debate between ensuring access to medical education and upholding rigorous standards in the healthcare sector.
