New Delhi- The Supreme Courton Tuesday, adjourned the hearing on a petition challenging the transparency of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-PG 2024. The decision was made due to a shortage of time, according to the bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan.

The petition, filed by NEET-PG aspirants, alleges that the National Board of Examinations (NBE) made significant changes to the exam structure and evaluation process just three days prior to the test. These changes, which included introducing two shifts, implementing a normalization method, and altering the tie-breaker criteria, negatively impacted students.

The petitioners argue that the NBE's lack of transparency is evident in their refusal to disclose question papers, answer keys, or candidate response sheets. They claim that this lack of access to information prevents students from verifying their performance and raises concerns about the fairness of the evaluation process.

The petitioners also allege that the NEET-PG information bulletin could be amended arbitrarily, without rules or regulations governing examinations. They argue that the NEET-PG had never been held in two shifts before, and that the single-shift, single-day format ensured a uniform examination standard and fairness of the national test.

Advocate Parul Shukla, representing the petitioners, highlighted that the NEET-PG 2024 results did not provide candidates with their total score, a departure from previous years. The petition asserts that these changes to the examination structure and scoring system are arbitrary and violate the principles of transparency and fairness enshrined in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

The petitioners have also filed an application seeking the suspension of the ongoing NEET-PG counseling process until these concerns are addressed.

The Supreme Court has tentatively scheduled the next hearing for December 10, 2024, as per the computerized case status on the apex court's website.