The Supreme Court on November 2 directed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to file written submissions explaining why NEET PG question papers should not be disclosed along with their corresponding answer keys after the examination.
A Bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe was hearing a writ petition filed by the Democratic Medical Association seeking greater transparency in the NEET PG examination process.
Among other reliefs, the petition seeks directions to the NBEMS to upload candidates’ individual OMR answer sheets to their respective login accounts, along with the question paper and corresponding answer key, immediately after the examination. The Supreme Court had issued notice in the matter on October 15.
Petitioners Question Limited Disclosure of NEET PG Questions
Senior Advocate Shikhil Suri, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that although the NBEMS had disclosed the master question set and the answers, it had not made the actual questions from which different examination sets were prepared available to candidates.
Instead, the examination body had disclosed only the question IDs corresponding to the questions in different sets.
Responding to the submission, counsel appearing for the NBEMS argued that the question bank for NEET PG was limited and constituted a valuable national resource that needed protection.
The counsel explained that candidates received different question papers because the questions were shuffled into multiple sets. While the NBEMS portal provided question IDs, the status of candidates’ responses and the correct answers, it did not disclose the actual questions.
She submitted:
“What we are disclosing now on the portal is not the master question paper. Each candidate gets a different question paper as they are shuffled in different sets. On each portal, we are giving question IDs, the status of the answers, and what was the correct answer. Only thing we are not disclosing is questions, we are giving question IDs.”
NBEMS Says NEET PG Question Bank Is A National Asset
The NBEMS counsel further submitted that the question bank for NEET PG was highly specialised and that its questions were prepared by experts from across the country.
According to the Board, disclosing the actual questions could gradually exhaust the limited pool of available questions and compromise the examination process in subsequent years.
The counsel argued that NEET PG was a science-based examination with a relatively restricted pool of questions, unlike subjects such as mathematics, where questions could be generated in numerous ways.
She further submitted that several countries, as well as institutions such as AIIMS, followed examination models in which question papers were not disclosed.
During the hearing, one of the counsels appearing in the matter pointed out that previous years’ NEET PG question papers were readily available for purchase on Amazon, questioning the rationale behind the Board’s reluctance to disclose the questions.
Taking note of the competing submissions, Justice Narasimha raised concerns about the need to maintain transparency in the examination process and asked, “What happens to transparency?”
The NBEMS counsel reiterated that disclosure could compromise the question bank, adding that making questions public year after year could result in the available questions being exhausted over the next five to six years.
Supreme Court Questions NBEMS’ Stand On Non-Disclosure
The Bench was not fully persuaded by the argument that other countries and institutions followed similar practices.
Justice Narasimha observed that examination practices followed in other countries could not automatically serve as a model for India.
The Court asked the NBEMS to provide a more detailed explanation of why NEET PG should be treated differently from other examinations where question papers and answer keys are disclosed.
Adjourning the matter, the Bench directed the examination body to place its justification on record.
The Court ordered:
“The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) shall file written submissions explaining why disclosure of questions may not compromise the integrity for upholding the exams for postgraduate NEET.”
Petition Listed Along With Other NEET Examination-Related Matters
The present petition has been listed along with the main petitions filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association, represented by Advocate Tanvi Dubey, and United Doctors Front, represented by Advocates Charu Mathur and Ritu Raniwal.
These petitions raise broader structural concerns relating to the functioning of the National Testing Agency and the examination system.
Case: Democratic Medical Association v. National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS)
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe
Date of Hearing: November 2, 2026