Allahabad High Court Upholds NEET PG Cut-Off Relaxation for Reserved Categories
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the decision to relax cut-off marks for reserved category candidates in the NEET-PG 2025 examination. This significant ruling upholds the policy allowing counselling for SC, ST, and OBC students who scored as low as minus 40 out of 800 marks.
Judicial Bench and Petition Details
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra rejected the petition filed by advocate Abhinav Gaur. The court noted that this matter falls within policy decisions that are typically beyond judicial intervention, echoing a similar stance previously taken by the Delhi High Court in a comparable case.
Constitutional Arguments and Vacant Seats
The petitioner argued that the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) decision violated Article 16 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal opportunity in public employment. The plea specifically challenged the substantial reduction in qualifying criteria, claiming it would compromise the integrity of merit-based selection processes.
The PIL highlighted a critical issue: over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats remained vacant after the second round of counselling. This situation prompted NBEMS to implement drastic cut-off reductions across categories.
Specific Cut-Off Changes
The revised cut-off scores implemented by NBEMS include:
- General (EWS) category: Reduced from 276 to 103 marks
- General-PwBD category: Lowered from 255 to 90 marks
- SC/ST/OBC category: Drastically reduced from 235 to minus 40 marks
The petition argued that allowing candidates with such low scores to qualify could negatively impact public health and patient safety, as medical education requires high academic standards. It further claimed this approach might violate the right to health and life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Parallel Legal Proceedings
While the Allahabad High Court has dismissed this PIL, it's important to note that another petition addressing the same issue remains pending before the Supreme Court. This indicates the ongoing legal debate surrounding NEET PG cut-off policies and their implications for medical education standards.
Current NEET PG Counselling Status
Meanwhile, NEET PG 2025 third-round counselling is currently underway. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has scheduled seat allotment results for January 29, 2026. Candidates must download these results in PDF format from the official MCC website.
The registration window for round three counselling closed on January 29, 2026, while the updated seat matrix was released earlier on January 23, 2026. This ongoing process continues amid the legal discussions about cut-off criteria and their impact on medical education quality.
