Will CBSE class 12 OSM controversy impact IIT eligibility despite qualifying in JEE Advanced 2026?

As the controversy around the CBSE On Screen Marking (OSM) deepens, students who have sought revaluation of their Class 12 exam papers are anxiously waiting for their final result so that they can move on to higher studies.

Amid this, students aiming for a seat at the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are left wondering if their CBSE marks will cast a shadow on their selection prospects as JEE Advanced 2026 results were released on the night of 31 May.

CBSE's contentious OSM has made some engineering aspirants ineligible because of scoring less in their Class 12 exam. But IIT Roorkee said in a press release that all candidates who qualified JEE Advanced should register for the 2026 counselling process irrespective of the marks they scored in their Class 12 CBSE exam.

Register for 2026 counselling

The press release states that all qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to register for the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) 2026 counselling process, “irrespective of the marks or percentage obtained in the Class 12 (or equivalent) examination.”

However, it clarified, that the “final seat confirmation/admission shall be subject to the candidate fulfilling the percentage-related eligibility criteria and other applicable conditions as specified in the JEE (Advanced) 2026 Information Brochure.”

This means, a candidate can participate in counselling and even be allotted a seat, but that seat will not be confirmed unless they meet the Class 12 percentage threshold laid down in the information brochure.

Qualifying marks

For JEE Advanced 2026, the qualifying marks varied by category: candidates in the Common Rank List needed at least 8 marks in each subject and 92 overall, while OBC-NCL and GEN-EWS candidates required 7 marks per subject and 82 in aggregate. For SC, ST, and PwD categories, the cutoff was 4 marks per subject and 46 overall, and for the Preparatory Course list, just 2 marks per subject and 23 in total were needed.

When were exams held?

This year, the JEE Advanced exam was conducted on May 17. The exam was conducted in double shifts. The timing of the exam was for 3 hours. Paper 1 was conducted in the morning shift from 9 am to 12 noon, and Paper 2 was conducted in the afternoon shift from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Meet toppers

This year’s top scorer, Shubham Kumar of the IIT Delhi zone, obtained 330 out of 360 marks in JEE (Advanced). The top-ranked female candidate, Arohi Deshpande, also from the IIT Delhi zone, scored 280 out of 360 and holds CRL 77.

Female representation in result

Significantly, 10,107 of the qualifiers are female candidates, reflecting a slow but steady improvement in gender representation.

Delhi Zone dominates the merit list

The Common Rank List (CRL) is dominated entirely by candidates from the IIT Delhi zone, which has produced the top three rankers this year.