IIT Bombay Exam Rules Shift Back to 2015 Penalties as Mid-Semesters Resume

UPDATE - follow-up to IIT Bombay exams resume with tighter halls but softer penalties for cheating: IIT Bombay resumed its mid-semester exams under stricter hall security while quietly reverting to softer 2015 punishment rules for cheating.

What Happened

Students and teaching assistants must report thirty minutes early and leave phones, bags, and electronic devices outside the building. The office of the Dean of Academics emailed these directions on Friday following the September 18 suicide of second-year BTech student Sahil Wakode, who died hours after being caught with a mobile phone during an exam. The institute replaced its strict July 2026 malpractice rules with the milder 2015 framework. Carrying a phone now results in a single grade loss rather than a full semester suspension and failure grade, though using one still brings an FR grade.

Reactions and Reforms

Wakode's death sparked two days of mass student protests. Students handed Director Shireesh Kedare an 18-point demand charter asking for examination reforms and better mental health support. Kedare formed an eight-member committee of four students and four faculty members to review exam rules. While the committee's broader proposals on handling malpractice are still pending, the Senate finalized the return to 2015 rules on Wednesday.

New Hall Rules

Students must take their seats ten minutes before papers start, and entry closes half an hour after commencement. No student can enter the building during exam hours if they are not writing that paper. Only original identity cards and basic stationery are permitted. Teaching assistants must also arrive thirty minutes early without phones, laptops, or bags, and they must permit only one student to take a bio-break at a time. The institute instructed TAs to take invigilation seriously and promptly report suspected cheating to faculty invigilators.

Context

Major academic institutions often review discipline and security policies following critical student welfare incidents to balance campus accountability with student well-being. Mid-semester tests serve as key academic evaluations that determine steady grading progress throughout an engineering semester at premier technical universities in India.