IIT Madras, Delhi faculty join Bombay’s in solidarity with Professor Doolla

The forum also highlighted that Professor Doolla “continues to be a faculty member in good standing,” indicating that he remains a professor at the institution.

About 50 to 60 alumni of IIT Bombay have also extended their support to Professor Doolla.

Members of the IIT-Bombay Faculty Forum march in support of Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, Monday.

Meanwhile, IIT Delhi faculty forum issued a statement extending its support to Professor Doolla saying that the latter was “simply discharging his duties during an examination as per the institute’s guidelines”.

“There is an apprehension among faculty members regarding the conduct of evaluations and maintaining academic integrity due to the circumstances that prevailed at IIT-Bombay,” the statement read.

The IIT Delhi faculty forum also appealed to the student community, their families and others to extend support so that “the faculty can discharge their duties in maintaining the integrity and fairness of the entire IIT system”.

It also condemned the mob-driven behavior, which, it alleges, has affected the IITs’ decision-making on various events in the recent past. “It was noted that various allegations have been leveled against Professor Doolla without presenting any credible evidence,” the statement noted.

The forum has called on IIT Bombay to extend all required institutional and personal support to Professor Doolla and his family. It has also committed its full support.

IIT Madras, too, extended its support, saying, “The death of any student is a loss to the entire academic community… At a time of such grief, we believe it is important that the circumstances be examined fairly and through due process.”

“We note the statement of the IIT Bombay faculty forum that Professor Doolla, as course instructor and invigilator, acted in accordance with the Senate-approved academic procedures of the institute. Faculty members across the IIT system are entrusted with upholding the integrity of examinations, and they must be able to discharge this responsibility in good faith, following established institutional procedure, without fear of personal vilification,” IIT Madras faculty forum said.

The faculty forum at IIT Madras has also requested that the inquiry into the incident also look into whether institutional procedures for handling academic malpractice give students enough support, counselling and safeguards at moments of acute stress, so that such situations are handled with both integrity and compassion.

“The IIT Madras Faculty Association stands in solidarity with [Professor Doolla], our colleague at IIT Bombay, and equally with the students and families of our institutions, whose wellbeing and trust are the foundation of everything we do,” it said in a statement.

Professor Doolla was the invigilator in the hall where students, including Sahil Wakode, were taking a test. Doolla allegedly caught Sahil with a mobile phone and using ChatGPT inside the hall. Later that day, the student died by suicide. The incident had led to protests on the IIT Bombay campus, with claims of administrative heavy-handedness and caste-based discrimination making up the din.