A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Allahabad High Court over the recent notification regarding lowering the qualifying cut-off percentage substantially for NEET-PG 2025. The petition
questions the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences' decision of lowering the qualifying cut-off percentage from the 50th percentile to 7th percentile for the general categories, along with lowering it from 40th percentile to 0th percentile for reserved categories.
The PIL has been filed by advocate Abhinav Gaur and was registered by the Allahabad Bench registry on Tuesday. However, the matter is yet to be listed for hearing. According to a report by Bar and Bench, the challenge is aimed at stopping the implementation of the revised cut-off criteria announced earlier this month.
In a notice on January 13, the National Board of Examinations said that the reduction in qualifying percentile was done on the directions of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In the revised norms, the qualifying score for the general category stands at 103, which has come down steeply from the earlier cut-off of 276. The cut-off for SC, ST and OBC candidates has been brought down to minus 40 as compared to 235 earlier.
In the petition, Gaur has argued that allowing candidates who fail to demonstrate even a basic level of medical knowledge to qualify for postgraduate medical courses could have serious consequences for patient safety. He contends that a candidate who clears a national-level entrance exam with negative marks cannot be presumed competent to undergo specialist medical training.
The plea further states that inadequately trained specialist doctors pose a continuing risk to patients during diagnosis, treatment and surgical procedures, thereby infringing upon the right to life and health guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Gaur has also questioned the constitutional validity of the decision, arguing that the drastic relaxation creates arbitrary and unreasonable differentiation without any rational link to legitimate affirmative action goals.
