A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging NBEMS’ decision to sharply reduce NEET-PG qualifying cut-offs, allegedly allowing candidates with zero or negative scores to qualify. Petitioners said the move violates constitutional norms and endangers patient safety. NBEMS said the cut-off was lowered on health ministry directions to fill vacant PG medical seats.

Mumbai: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a notification issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on January 13, 2026, which sharply reduced the qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025–26. The revised criteria reportedly allow candidates with zero or even negative scores to qualify for postgraduate medical admissions.

Petitioners named

The PIL has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by social worker Harisharan Devgan, neurosurgeon Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal, President of the United Doctors Front, and Dr Akash Soni, a member of the World Medical Association. The petition, registered as Diary No. 3085/2026, has been moved through advocates appearing for the petitioners.

Speaking to the Free Press Journal, Dr Soni, one of the petitioners confirmed the development and said, “NEET-PG is designed to uphold minimum academic and clinical standards. Lowering the cutoff to near-zero percentiles effectively undermines the concept of merit, reducing a national competitive examination to a mere formality. This is unacceptable in a profession where patient lives are at stake.”

Legal challenge

Challenging the notification, the petitioners argue that the dilution of minimum qualifying standards for postgraduate medical education is arbitrary, unconstitutional, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. They contend that lowering merit thresholds in a life-critical profession like medicine poses serious risks to patient safety, public health, and the integrity of the medical profession. According to the plea, such dilution undermines the very purpose of a national screening examination.

The petition further states that the revised cut-off norms are contrary to the statutory mandate of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which requires the maintenance of high standards in medical education and training.

NBEMS justification

On January 13, 2026, NBEMS announced a reduction in the qualifying percentile for certain categories to enable participation in Round-3 counselling, citing a large number of vacant postgraduate seats. The move, NBEMS said, was taken on the directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to ensure optimal seat utilisation and continuation of the counselling process.

However, the decision has triggered widespread opposition from medical professionals, academicians, and doctors’ associations across the country. Many have demanded an immediate rollback of the revised criteria, warning that allowing candidates with negative scores to enter postgraduate training reflects a serious policy failure with long-term implications for healthcare quality.

The Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) has strongly opposed the notification, calling it unprecedented and deeply alarming. Doctors have pointed out that NEET-PG is designed to ensure that only competent medical graduates enter specialist training, and qualifying candidates with scores reportedly as low as minus forty defeats this objective.

Dr Bibhu Anand, Chief Advisor of FAIMA, said the association would write to the National Medical Commission and intensify protests nationwide. “The drastically reduced qualifying cut-off means that even a student who does not attempt a single question would qualify, rendering the examination meaningless,” he said, alleging that private colleges could exploit the situation while meritorious students suffer.