SC directs medical exam board to explain decision to reduce qualifying cut-off for NEET-PG
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday directed the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to explain its decision to drastically reduce the qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025-26.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed NBEMS to file an affidavit and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
"On one hand, we have to see that seats should not get wasted. At the same time, there is pressure that candidates are not coming, so please reduce the cutoff.
"Then the argument will be that the standards are being lowered and the counter-argument is that seats are going waste. So, somewhere there has to be a balance," the bench observed while asking NBEMS to file an affidavit.
During the hearing, senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that marks cannot be relaxed in PG admissions, except for exceptional reasons.
He said standards need to be stricter at the postgraduate level.
The top court on February 4 had issued notices to the Union of India, the NBEMS, the National Medical Commission and others.
With over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats across the country remaining vacant, the Board revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 admissions, reducing it to zero from 40 percentile for reserved categories -- which will make even those scoring as low as minus 40 out of 800 to take part in the third round of counselling for PG medical seats.
According to the notice published by NBEMS, the NEET PG cutoff for the general category has been reduced to seven percentile from 50.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan, Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal and Dr Akash Soni submitting that the cut-off reduction violates Article 14 and Article 21.
The plea contended that the eligibility criteria cannot be altered after commencement of the selection process as aspirants prepared, competed and made career choices based on the originally notified cut-offs.
The petition said PG medical education cannot be treated as a commercial exercise and that regulatory authorities are required to prevent dilution of standards.
Several sections of the medical community have termed as "unprecedented and illogical" the NBEMS' decision to drastically reduce the cut-off percentile for candidates across all categories for NEET-PG 2025-26.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
