IIT Bombay postpones mid-semester exams to October 10-11 amid Sahil Wakode death row

IIT Bombay has postponed its mid-semester examinations scheduled for September 26 and 27 to October 10 and 11, as protests continue on campus following the death of BTech student Sahil Wakode.

The institute said the examinations will follow the timetable originally issued by the Dean, with the same schedule being observed on the rescheduled dates.

The decision was taken after consultations with student representatives. The additional time will also allow a newly constituted committee to prepare a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for examination invigilators.

New panel to frame examination guidelines

The committee will have equal representation from students and is expected to establish clearer, student-friendly procedures for handling suspected cases of academic misconduct during examinations.

Faculty members have also sought step-by-step instructions for invigilators on how to respond when they suspect academic misconduct and what procedure should be followed at each stage.

The revised SOP and rules will have to be placed before the IIT Bombay Senate for formal approval before they can be implemented.

The move comes as students continue to protest over Wakode’s death and demand an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding it.

On Wednesday, the IIT Bombay Board of Governors constituted a 10-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of the second-year BTech student. The panel includes faculty members, students, a retired IAS officer, a former institute vigilance official and a psychiatrist.

Investigation follows allegations of caste discrimination

Wakode was found hanging in his hostel room on September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination.

His parents have alleged that he was subjected to caste-based slurs and have sought the arrest of faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla and IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare. An FIR has been registered in connection with allegations of abetment to suicide and caste-based harassment, and the investigation has been transferred to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.

Doolla, who has been named in the FIR, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial inquiry. The committee is also expected to examine his role in the events preceding Wakode’s death.

IIT Bombay’s Faculty Forum, however, has denied that Wakode had submitted any complaint of caste-based discrimination to the institute’s SC/ST cell or administration.

The Mumbai Police have separately been investigating the case. Police have said the probe is being conducted “diligently and impartially” and that all possible angles are being examined, while appealing to people not to speculate or circulate unverified information.

CCTV footage under scrutiny

CCTV footage from the examination hall has emerged as investigators reconstruct the events preceding Wakode’s death.

Reports said footage from around 12.30 pm to 12.45 pm on September 18 shows Doolla approaching Wakode and taking him out of the examination hall after allegedly noticing him looking at something in his pocket. The Crime Branch is examining the footage as part of its investigation.

Police sources have also said the footage indicates that a verbal confrontation took place between Wakode and Doolla inside the examination hall before the student left. Investigators are examining the sequence of events between Wakode leaving the examination hall and returning to his hostel room.

The developments have intensified scrutiny of IIT Bombay’s examination procedures and prompted demands for clearer safeguards in cases involving suspected academic misconduct.

The institute’s revised SOP, once approved by the Senate, is expected to provide a more detailed framework for invigilators dealing with such cases, while the 10-member committee and Mumbai Police Crime Branch continue to examine the circumstances surrounding Wakode’s death.