NEET-PG Candidate Urges Supreme Court To Direct NBEMS To Disclose Answer Key, OMR Sheets

New Delhi: A doctor aspiring for post-graduate medical admission through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-PG) has petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the National Board of Examination's (NBE) refusal to provide access to the question paper, answer key, and answer sheets of the NEET-PG examination. The petitioner also seeks the court's direction to allow candidates to apply for re-evaluation of their scores.

On June 21, a vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti issued a notice to the NBE regarding the petition. The matter has been scheduled for the next hearing on July 8, giving the NBE time to file a counter-affidavit.

The petitioner argued that major examinations like IIT-JEE, CMAT, CLAT, and various judicial services exams provide answer keys to candidates. Similarly, the NEET-UG exam conducted by the National Testing Agency offers answer keys. However, the NBE does not extend this provision to NEET-PG candidates. Requests for answer sheets under the Right to Information Act (RTI) of 2005 are also denied by the NBE.

Referencing the Supreme Court's judgment in CBSE And Anr. v. Aditya Bandhopadhyay And Ors (2011), the petitioner contended that answer sheets are considered information under the RTI Act, which candidates have the right to access. Since the NBE is not exempted from the RTI Act as per Section 24, it cannot deny access to answer sheets.

The petition challenges Clauses 9.7 and 10.4 of the NEET-PG Information Bulletin, which state that the NBE shall not share any content of the examination, including answer keys or answer sheets, and that there shall be no re-evaluation or rechecking of responses marked by the candidates. These clauses are deemed unconstitutional by the petitioner.

Previously, on June 11, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions seeking answer sheets, answer keys, and re-evaluation for the 2021 and 2022 NEET-PG exams. However, the court allowed for the filing of a fresh petition if any grievances persisted with respect to NEET-PG 2024.

In light of the allegations concerning the integrity of the NEET-PG exams, the Centre announced on June 22 that the NEET-PG 2024 exam, scheduled for June 23, has been postponed. This decision aims to undertake a thorough assessment of the examination process. The petitioner is represented by Charu Mathur, Advocate-on-Record, and Avani Bansal, Advocate.