New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court of India challenging the decision to reduce the NEET PG cut off percentile, a move that has sparked nationwide concern among doctors and healthcare professionals over its potential impact on patient safety and medical standards.
The petition challenges the January 13 notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which reduced the qualifying cut off percentiles to what the petitioners describe as “abnormally low levels,” including zero and negative eligibility thresholds.
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PIL Filed Under Article 32
The PIL has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking judicial intervention against what the petitioners call an arbitrary dilution of qualifying standards for postgraduate medical education.
The petition has been jointly filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan, neurosurgeon Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal (President, United Doctors Front), Dr. Dhruv Chauhan and Dr Akash Soni (Member, World Medical Association). The petition has been filed through Advocate-on-Record (AoR) Neema, with assistance from Advocates Satyam Singh Rajput and Adarsh Singh.
‘Violation of Articles 14 and 21’
The petitioners argue that reducing the NEET PG cut off to such low levels violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty), stating that weakening the entry standards into postgraduate medical training directly affects public health outcomes.
They claim the decision is arbitrary and could compromise the integrity of medical education, thereby endangering the quality of healthcare delivery in India.
“Medicine Is Not an Ordinary Vocation”
In strong words, the plea highlights that medical practice involves life-and-death decisions and cannot be treated like a routine profession.
“Medicine is not an ordinary vocation, it directly implicates human life, bodily integrity, and dignity,” the petition states.
The petition further argues that the cut-off reduction—allegedly justified primarily to fill vacant seats—removes merit as a meaningful criterion, reducing a competitive examination to an administrative formality.
Concerns Over Patient Safety and Public Health
Doctors supporting the petition have raised serious concerns that lowering eligibility standards at the postgraduate level may lead to:
- Compromised clinical competence
- Higher risk of medical errors
- Poorer decision-making in critical care
- Decline in trust in the healthcare system
- Long-term deterioration in the quality of specialists
Allegation: Seat Filling Cannot Justify Dilution
The plea criticizes the reasoning that NEET PG cut offs should be reduced simply to ensure that seats do not remain vacant, warning that such an approach prioritizes administrative convenience over patient lives.
The petition states that the impugned action “institutionalizes dilution of professional standards in a life-critical field,” and that merit must remain central to PG medical admissions.
NEET PG cut off : ‘Contrary to NMC Act, 2019’
The petition also argues that lowering merit standards at the postgraduate level violates the statutory mandate of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019, which was introduced to strengthen transparency, quality and accountability in medical education.
According to the plea, weakening eligibility benchmarks is inconsistent with the intent of medical regulation and reforms aimed at improving healthcare outcomes.
A Larger Debate: Quantity vs Quality
The case has once again brought back the ongoing national debate over whether India’s healthcare system should focus on producing more specialists quickly or maintaining high-quality standards in medical training.
While authorities have often defended NEET PG cut off reductions as necessary to fill vacant seats and address manpower shortages, doctors argue that lowering standards is not a sustainable solution, especially when it could affect patient safety.
Awaiting Supreme Court’s Response
The PIL is expected to be taken up by the Supreme Court in the coming days. The outcome could have major implications for NEET PG cut off and counselling, PG admissions, and the future framework of medical education standards in India.
As the controversy grows, the central concern remains clear: in healthcare, lowering standards is not merely an academic issue—it can directly affect patient lives.
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