JEE-Main: 20 candidates debarred for 3 years for using 'unfair means' in exam, result withheld

At least 20 candidates have been debarred from appearing for Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Main for a period of three years for using "unfair means" in the examination, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said on Wednesday.

The decision by the NTA comes amid an ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the alleged manipulation of fourth edition of JEE-Main, conducted from August 26 to September 2.

"On account of using 'unfair means', 20 candidates have been debarred from appearing in future examinations for a period of three years. Their results have also been withheld," they said in a statement announcing the result.

The agency did not comment on whether debarring of these students had any connection with the ongoing investigation.

A record 44 candidates have scored 100 percentile in the engineering entrance exam JEE-Main this year while 18 candidates have shared the top rank.

Last year, 24 candidates had scored 100 percentile.

Starting this year, JEE-Main was conducted four times a year to offer flexibility to students and a chance to improve their scores.

Over 9.34 lakh candidates appeared in four editions of JEE-Main. A total of 2.52 lakh common candidates had appeared for all four editions of the exam.

A total of 6.58 lakh male candidates had appeared for the exam while the number of female candidates appearing for the exam was 2.80 lakh.

The ranks of the candidates have been released taking into consideration the best of the four NTA scores in accordance with the policy already made.