The Supreme Court has directed the Center and relevant authorities to submit a report within two weeks regarding the significant reduction in the NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying cut-off. This directive has renewed scrutiny of the eligibility criteria applied in later rounds of postgraduate medical counseling.
A bench comprising Justice P. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe is reviewing the reduction in the NEET-PG qualifying percentile. The Court has requested details on the basis and rationale for the revised criteria and will proceed after receiving the report.
The Supreme Court is considering a petition titled Harisharan Devgan & Others v. Union of India & Others, filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan and Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal, and Dr Akash Soni. The petitioners challenge the reduction of the NEET-PG 2025 qualifying cut-off after two rounds of counseling for the 2025-26 academic session, arguing it could undermine merit and standards in medical education.
However, the Court has not granted interim relief, so the ongoing counseling process continues.
Revised NEET-PG Qualifying Criteria Under Review
The controversy centers on the significant reduction in the NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying threshold. Reports indicate the qualifying score was lowered to 103 marks for General/EWS candidates, 90 marks for General PwBD candidates, and minus 40 marks for SC/ST/OBC candidates.
The reduction drew attention because NEET-PG uses negative marking, which can result in negative overall scores. The minus 40 threshold enabled candidates in those categories to qualify for counseling despite negative scores.
The Supreme Court is also considering the policy basis for substantially changing qualifying standards during the counseling cycle. Petitioners have raised concerns about the potential impact on merit and standards in postgraduate medical education.
Vacant Seats and Academic Standards
Reports have linked the reduction in the qualifying threshold to the large number of vacant postgraduate medical seats after earlier counseling rounds. More than 18,000 PG medical seats reportedly remained vacant after the second round, prompting authorities to relax the qualifying criteria for subsequent rounds.
This development raises broader questions about how the medical admission system should balance filling vacant postgraduate seats with maintaining transparent, consistent, and academically appropriate eligibility standards.
The Supreme Court’s request for a detailed report from the Center is expected to clarify the reasons for the revised qualifying criteria. The next stage of proceedings will depend on the report and the Court’s further review.
Next Step
The Center and the concerned committee have two weeks to submit their report to the Supreme Court. Until the Court considers the matter further, it has declined to issue an interim order stopping the ongoing counseling process.
The proceedings are being closely monitored by NEET-PG aspirants, doctors, medical associations, and institutions as the Court considers the implications of the reduced qualifying threshold for postgraduate medical admissions.
News Reference:
- https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/career/news/neet-pg-2026-results-negative-marks-qualified-candidates-list-139259660.html
- https://hindi.news18.com/news/career/education-neet-pg-2026-cutoff-supreme-court-directs-government-to-file-committee-report-within-two-weeks-10889806.html
- https://hindi.moneycontrol.com/india/neet-pg-2026-supreme-court-summons-report-in-2-weeks-on-neet-pg-cut-off-issue-refuses-interim-relief-article-2445717.html
- https://inanews.org/neet-pg-2026-supreme-court-directs-centre-report-qualifying-cutoff-reduction
- https://www.bhaskar.com/career/news/neet-pg-result-nbems-cutoff-zero-percentile-counseling-update-139256916.html
- https://www.archanaacademy.com/neet-pg-0-percentile-vivad-md-ms-admission/
- https://bharatexpress.com/legal/supreme-court-seeks-committee-report-within-2-weeks-on-neet-pg-2025-26-cut-off-reduction-698984
