MUMBAI: The IIT-Bombay administration is planning to put the one-semester suspension rule for acts of copying on hold for the time being. Instead, it is likely to go back to the old guidelines approved by the institute’s senate in 2015, which, sources from the institute claimed, called for suspension only in cases of mass cheating or repeat offences or serious ones such as impersonation.The institute has convened a special meeting of the senate on Wednesday with a single-point agenda to revisit the rules, framed and approved in Aug 2026, a month before the mid-semester exams commenced this year. Exams were postponed on account of protests following the death by suicide of second-year B Tech student Sahil Wakode on Sept 18. The postponed mid-semester exams are scheduled this weekend, on Oct 10 and 11.The institute’s highest academic authority is expected to discuss the issue of the rules and approve the proposal to go back to the 2015 guidelines if it finds it appropriate, said sources. The institute is expected to reiterate its old policy that ‘when a student is allegedly found to be indulging in malpractice, there should be no communication and after confiscation of the unauthorised material, a fresh answer sheet has to be given’.Institute officials did not comment.While a committee was set up to revisit the current rules and process of examination conduct, it is likely to be given more time for due diligence and suggest disciplinary action at a later stage. In the interim, examiners are expected to follow the rules and guidelines framed and approved in April 2015, sources said.After Wakode’s death by suicide, allegedly after he was found copying, the institute had in a public statement issued on Sept 18 mentioned, “No disciplinary action was initiated against the student (Sahil). The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor and the head of the department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.”While his parents filed a complaint with the Powai police, the matter was transferred to the crime branch and is under investigation. The institute, too, has set up a committee to conduct an inquiry.The disciplinary action document approved in Aug 2026, which was used for the ongoing mid-semester exam, and which is available in the public domain, calls for a one-semester suspension and a fail grade if students are found in possession of unauthorised material such as chits, phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or are found scribbling on body or bringing cheat sheets to the exam hall during bio-breaks, among other things. The guidelines also state that all cases involving repeat offenders, irrespective of the type or combination of academic malpractice, will lead to a minimum of one semester of academic suspension.Many students and teachers from the campus claimed that they had not read the document and were not aware of the new disciplinary action (2026) for copying with chits, phones, etc. The document, said sources, was circulated by the institute after it was approved by the senate Aug and also the day the mid-semester exam commenced.Calling the rule harsh, a teacher told TOI a semester’s suspension is uncalled for, for students who are caught with copying materials such as chits or phones. “Students are bound to make mistakes. The standard practice should be giving one chance to the student,” he said.Referring to a statement from an old exam taken a few years ago, another teacher said 52 students suffered a grade loss and seven students suffered two grade losses, 25 students were given fail grades, and suspension for one semester was meted out only for repeat offences to three students. A grade loss means that when students are given grades, for the act of malpractice the grade is brought down from B to C or from C to D.All faculty have been invited to participate and offer suggestions at Wednesday’s meeting before a final decision is taken. The decision to invite all faculty follows discussions in which full professors said younger colleagues, often more closely aligned with students, should have a voice in deliberations. “We feel it is a positive move to open up the senate meeting to all faculty.” Student representatives who are senate members will also attend.“Faculty have emphasised the need for clear, step-by-step instructions on conducting examinations and handling incidents of suspected academic misconduct, including the procedure and actions to be followed at each stage,” said a communication from Siddhant Gupta, general secretary, academic affairs (UG).Meanwhile, the recommended SOP reiterates that there should be no communication with a student at the time they are caught copying. However, the committee has also recommended that the Students’ Wellness Centre be informed after the exam if a student is found copying, said sources.– Inputs by Hemali Chhapia
