SC notice to NBE on plea seeking release of answer key, question paper of NEET-PG 2021 candidates

New Delhi: On Monday, the Supreme Court issued notice to the National Board of Examinations (NBE) and others in response to a plea seeking a directive to release the candidates' question paper and answer key for NEET-PG 2021.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked NBE and others to file a reply on the petition and tagged the matter with other similar pleas relating to NEET. Sushant Gangey, a doctor who holds a recognised Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from an Indian university or school and is registered with the State Medical Council, filed the plea.

The petitioner has also obtained provisional/permanent registration. The petitioner has appeared in NEET-PG 2021, which was conducted on September 11, 2021.

In his plea filed through advocate on record Kaustubh Shukla, the petitioner said that he wants to bring to the notice of the top court the grave and serious problems faced by thousands of NEET-PG aspirants across the country due to the arbitrary action on part of the respondent NBE in not releasing the answer key and the question paper for NEET PG 2021.

The petitioner has also challenged arbitrary action on part NBE in not providing the candidates with the option of revaluation or rechecking, in case of discrepancy in their scores.

The petitioner has sought to issue an appropriate direction to the respondent to release the question paper and answer key of the candidates for NEET-PG 2021 and to allow the NEET PG 2021 candidates including the petitioner, the option of revaluation/re-checking in case of discrepancy in their scores.

The petitioner also sought to declare Clause 9.7 and 10.4 of the NEET-PG Information Bulletin, 2021 as "unconstitutional" and to direct the establishment of a high powered committee to examine instances of alleged discrepancy been raised by thousands of candidates across the country to ensure fairness and transparency in the evaluation mechanism.

The petition also sought to issue an appropriate direction to upload individual OMR answer sheets in the login account along with question paper and the corresponding answer key, immediately after the examination.

It also asked the NBE to provide the NEET-PG 2021 candidates with the answer key and question paper after they filed an RTI application.