Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL challenging a decision of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences to allow the counselling of SC, ST and OBC students who scored minus 40 out of 800 in the NEET-PG 2025.
A two-judge bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra dismissed the petition filed by advocate Abhinav Gaur.
The court was informed that the Delhi High Court had already dismissed a PIL on the issue, saying it was a policy matter in which the court had nothing to do. It was also informed that another petition in the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.
The petitioner had termed the move of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) unconstitutional and violative of Article 16 of the Constitution that guarantees equal opportunity in public employment.
The plea challenged the decision on the ground that a substantial reduction in cut-off marks for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate) 2025, or NEET-PG, will undermine the sanctity of a merit-based selection process.
The PIL added that after more than 18,000 seats remained vacant following the second round of counselling, the NBEMS “drastically” reduced the qualifying criteria, setting the cut-off score at minus 40 out of 800 for the SC/ST/OBC category.
The petition also pointed out that in the general (EWS) category, the cut-off has been reduced from 276 to 103, whereas in the general-PwBD category, it has been slashed from 255 to 90.
In the SC/ST/OBC category, the same was reduced from 235 to -40, which, the PIL plea argued, will adversely impact public health and patient safety, both matters of paramount public concern that involve a high-level of academic precision, the petitioner claimed.
The plea also claimed that the quality of doctors who do not have the minimum threshold to qualify for the examination would affect the right to health and life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. PTI
