IIT-Bombay Faculty Split Over Due Process in Dalit Student's Exam Malpractice Case

A section of faculty at IIT-Bombay has begun publicly questioning whether the institute followed due process while handling the alleged examination malpractice case against second-year B.Tech student Sahil Wakode, a Dalit student whose death by suicide last week has reignited debate over caste discrimination in India's premier higher education institutions.

The Mumbai Police have booked Professor Suryanarayana Doolla for alleged caste abuse and abetment of suicide, and his deanship has been suspended. The institute has apologised twice for a statement accusing Wakode of using a mobile phone to cheat, issued hours before his death.

On Thursday, National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairperson Kishor Makwana visited the campus for a spot inquiry. He met the institute's Director, concerned faculty, students who knew Wakode, and police officials investigating the case. The Commission directed the institute and police to preserve all evidentiary records and sought an action-taken report. Makwana also met Wakode's parents, who submitted a written complaint, and questioned students and faculty about the circumstances in which Wakode was questioned before leaving the examination venue.

While student protests have demanded introspection into systemic issues contributing to suicides at IITs, the institute's faculty forum has declared "strong solidarity" with Doolla. That defence, made before investigations concluded, has prompted some faculty members to distance themselves from the forum.

Professor Suryakant Waghmore's on-record criticism of the forum's stance has led to wider internal discussions on whether due process was followed after Wakode was interrupted in the exam hall. Several faculty members have written to the administration asking the forum to withdraw its "unwarranted statements" and instead demand an independent, fair probe into both the exam hall events and what followed.

Questions raised in communications made public by Waghmore and by faculty members speaking anonymously include why Wakode was not given a fresh answer sheet after being caught for alleged malpractice, as rules require, and whether the Departmental Academic Disciplinary Action Committee was convened as mandated. One faculty member said rules require the D-ADAC to address such cases and that the invigilator in question not be present in those discussions, asking what the meeting where multiple professors allegedly "counselled" the student actually was.

Faculty are also discussing whether Doolla and other professors sought a written statement from Wakode at that meeting, when procedures require an accused student be given at least two days to submit one. One professor questioned why the student was removed from the exam hall at all. A communication shared by Waghmore showed a faculty member saying the faculty forum head, Professor Rajkumar S. Pant, and Wakode's HoD both spoke of having secured a written confession but were reluctant to make it public, reportedly fearing questions about how it was obtained.

These discussions have surfaced as parts of CCTV footage from the exam hall were leaked to television media, with many citing it as proof Wakode used unfair means. The footage does not capture the full picture of Doolla's conduct afterwards, which the faculty forum has defended and which is under investigation. The leak prompted the institute to reissue its apology on Thursday.

A 10-member IIT-Bombay committee is probing the circumstances of Wakode's death, and the Mumbai Police Crime Branch is expected to question Doolla. Waghmore has said publicly that he is contesting only the faculty forum's role, accusing it of creating a narrative against the student, mobilising faculty across IITs, and making baseless statements on television debates. The forum's first statement accused Wakode of unfair means and backed Doolla's conduct as fair and procedural; it did not withdraw that statement after the institute's apology, and its second statement again supported Doolla without mentioning the malpractice allegation.