The Supreme Court on Monday, May 5, agreed to hear a plea seeking horizontal reservation for transgender persons in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025–26. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan issued notice to the Union government, national medical bodies, and all states and Union Territories, directing them to file their responses.
The petition was filed by two doctors, Kiran AR and B Venkata Bhagiradhy Mythrraa, and a final-year medical student, Gargi. The three transgender women challenged the April 17 notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which governs the conduct of NEET-PG. They argued that the failure to provide horizontal reservation for transgender candidates is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The petitioners contend that the NBEMS notice violates the landmark 2014 Supreme Court judgement in NALSA vs Union of India, which affirmed the right to gender self-identification and mandated affirmative action for transgender persons. The NALSA ruling recognised transgender individuals as a socially and educationally backward class and directed both Union and state governments to provide them with reservations in education and public employment.
Despite this precedent, the petitioners pointed out that the NEET-PG 2025 has not outlined any scheme/policy of horizontal reservations for transgender persons, which is a violation of the NALSA directions.
The petitioners sought the court to quash the said notice and direct the government to issue a fresh one, providing horizontal reservation for transgender persons. They specifically request that 1% of seats be reserved for transgender persons in each vertical category.