SC permits NBE to hold NEET-PG 2025 on August 3

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the NEET-PG 2025 exam on August 3, granting an extension from the earlier deadline of June 15, after it (top court) had ordered the conduct of examination in single shift instead of two shifts as planned by the examination agency earlier.

A vacation bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Augustine George Masih passed the order on an application by the NBE on June 3, which sought an extension of time to comply with the Court’s May 30 direction mandating a single-shift exam for parity among candidates.

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“We are satisfied that the prayer for an extension of time to reschedule the exam on August 3, 2025, is bona fide… No further extension shall be granted,” the bench said in its order.

Earlier, on May 30, the Supreme Court had rejected the NBE’s decision to conduct the exam in two shifts, holding that it created arbitrariness and failed to ensure a level playing field. The Court had then directed that NEET-PG be held in a single shift.

In its application, the NBE submitted that it was not feasible to conduct the exam in a single shift by June 15, due to logistical and technical constraints. The Technology Partner, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), had also confirmed that August 3 was the earliest viable date to implement the Court’s directive effectively.

Appearing for the NBE, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj argued that the transition from two shifts to one required doubling the examination centres—from 450 to nearly 1000 plus — as well as training manpower, deploying secure infrastructure, and conducting mock drills and load testing.

“Security has to be ensured. With an increase in centres, double the arrangements need to be made,” the ASG told the Court.

The NBE also submitted that it wanted to avoid any compromise in the conduct of the exam. “The time is taken only for the benefit of the students,” it said.

Opposing the NBE’s plea, the petitioners’ counsel contended that TCS should not delay NEET-PG due to its commitments to other exams.

However, after hearing both sides, the Court observed that the reasons cited by NBE appeared genuine, and emphasized that no further extension would be allowed.

“We allow it,” the bench said, while recording the practical difficulties cited by NBE and TCS.

The NBE clarified that conducting the exam for 2.42 lakh candidates in one shift requires capacity for 2.70 lakh candidates, including buffer zones. This scale of infrastructure, it said, is impossible to arrange in less than two weeks, especially amid overlapping national academic activities.

The exam, now rescheduled for August 3, 2025, will be held in a single shift across 1000+ centres with enhanced technical infrastructure, trained invigilators, and security protocols.