It was argued that the lowering of qualifying standards was arbitrary, discriminatory and compromised merit in postgraduate medical education. Opposing the plea, counsel appearing for the Union of India and NBEMS submitted that the issue was no longer res integra. In that case, the Delhi High Court had upheld the lowering of cutoffs, observing that the decision was taken after due deliberation to ensure optimal utilisation of vacant postgraduate medical seats. Referring extensively to the Delhi High Court judgment, the Allahabad High Court underlined that expanding the pool of candidates for counselling by lowering eligibility criteria did not, by itself, undermine merit. The Allahabad High Court agreed with the reasoning that judicial review of administrative or policy decisions is limited and permissible only on grounds of arbitrariness or perversity.