Archive · 8 Oct 2026
IIT-B Panel Proposes Support and New Exam Cheating Procedures
IIT Bombay is reviewing what should happen when someone is suspected of cheating during an exam.
A committee suggested that exam staff should collect evidence and write down what happened.
The student should also be able to explain their side.
The student would still be allowed to finish the exam with a new answer booklet.
Staff should contact a support team so the student is not alone after leaving the exam.
The committee also suggested banning phones and other gadgets in exam buildings and using CCTV.
Meanwhile, the Senate has returned to older punishment rules while it works on new ones.
The review followed the death of student Sahil Wakode, who was reportedly suspected of using a cellphone during an exam.
An eight-member faculty-student committee proposed new procedures for handling suspected cheating during exams.
Invigilators would record incidents, collect related material, hear the student’s account, and alert the quick response team helpline.
Students accused of cheating would be allowed to finish the exam using a fresh answer booklet.
The IIT Senate paused stricter July penalties and reinstated the institute’s 2015 rules while new rules are drafted.
The committee also proposed restrictions on devices and bags, CCTV monitoring, and a limit of one student leaving for a bio-break at a time.
- Who
- An eight-member IIT Bombay committee of four faculty members and four students, and the IIT Senate.
- What
- The committee proposed procedures for suspected exam cheating; the Senate reinstated 2015 penalties while new rules are prepared.
- When
- The interim report was presented on Wednesday, before remaining mid-semester papers scheduled for that weekend.
- Where
- IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai.
- Why
- The committee was set up after student Sahil Wakode died by suicide following an alleged cellphone-related exam incident, amid questions about exam procedures.
Procedural safeguards
Exam enforcement
Handling suspected cheating
Procedural safeguards
The committee proposes documenting the incident, hearing the student’s account, involving a support team, and leaving further proceedings to the Disciplinary Action Committee.
Exam enforcement
The invigilator should immediately stop the suspected activity and collect related material; the committee also proposes tighter controls on devices and exam-hall access.
Punishments
Procedural safeguards
The Senate has put the stricter July penalties on hold and returned to the 2015 rules while new rules are drafted.
Exam enforcement
The July rules imposed an FR grade and a semester suspension for bringing a phone into an exam, and an FR for talking to another student.
- Committee membership
- Eight members: four faculty members and four students.
- Proposed response to suspected cheating
- Stop the activity, collect related material, document the incident, and let the student finish with a fresh answer booklet.
- Student account
- The student would be given a chance to record their version on a separate form.
- Support notification
- The invigilator would alert the quick response team helpline after the student leaves the exam hall.
- Penalty rules in force
- The Senate returned to 2015 rules while a new set is drafted.
- 2015 phone penalties
- Carrying a phone meant loss of one grade; using it meant an FR grade.
- Other proposed exam controls
- No gadgets, bags, notes, or books in the exam building; CCTV monitoring; one student at a time for bio-breaks.