12 Students Hit 100 Percentile in JEE Main 2026 Session 1
12 Students Hit 100 Percentile in JEE Main 2026 Session 1
Only 12 of 1.35 million aspirants scored 100 percentile in JEE Main 2026 Session 1, with 24 at 99.99 percentile. Here’s who made the cut and what it means.
Nearly 1.35 million aspirants appeared for JEE Main 2026 Session 1, and 12 of them secured a perfect 100 percentile in Paper 1 (BE/BTech). The results were announced by the National Testing Agency on Monday. The 12 toppers include three from Rajasthan, two from Andhra Pradesh, and one each from Delhi, Bihar, Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana. A photo from the day showed security personnel outside an examination centre in Patna as candidates arrived to take the test.
Paper 1 comprises 75 multiple-choice questions across Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, carrying a total of 300 marks, with one mark deducted for every incorrect answer. If a question is dropped, full marks are awarded to all candidates. Overall, 24 candidates scored 99.99 percentile, underscoring the high level of competition this year.
The ranks are prepared on the basis of percentile scores, calculated from raw scores after normalization, and NTA declares percentile scores up to seven decimal places. The agency also noted that results of 68 candidates were withheld after concerns over unfair means or identity verification issues. After releasing the provisional answer key on February 4 and inviting challenges until February 5, the NTA published the final answer key on Monday, dropping nine questions — seven from Physics and two from Mathematics. Four questions — two from Chemistry and one each from Physics and Mathematics — were found to have multiple correct answers.
The exam was conducted in computer-based mode from January 21 to 29 across 658 centres in 326 cities, including 15 abroad. Last year, 14 candidates had secured 100 percentile in Session 1, making this year’s field of 100 percentile achievers notably smaller but highly scrutinized for question quality and fairness. Experts noted concerns about several Physics questions and typographical errors in Mathematics, though the overall performance signals strong preparation and perseverance among top performers.
