IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla's deanship was suspended following an FIR registered under the SC/ST Act after the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Wakode. The professor's name has since become central to a dispute involving student protests, allegations by Wakode's parents and questions about the institute's handling of the examination incident.
Before the controversy, Doolla had spent more than a decade at IIT-Bombay, where he taught and conducted research in electrical power systems and renewable energy. He also held administrative responsibilities and received several awards for teaching and research.
Who is IIT-Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla?
As per IIT records, Doolla is an electrical engineering and energy systems researcher whose career has been closely associated with IIT-Bombay. His academic interests include power systems, smart grids, microgrids and renewable energy integration. He completed his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from Nagarjuna University in 2000. He then earned an M.Tech in Energy Systems Engineering from IIT-Bombay in 2002, followed by a PhD in Power Systems from IIT Delhi in 2007.
Before joining IIT-Bombay, he worked at Power Research and Development Consultants in Bengaluru and Machine 2 Machine in Hyderabad. His work at the institute has covered both teaching and research, with responsibilities that extended into student administration.
IIT-Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla's teaching and research awards
Doolla's academic record includes several distinctions from IIT-Bombay and professional engineering organisations.
Prof S. P. Sukhatme Excellence in Teaching Award
2021
Recognition for teaching excellence at IIT-Bombay.
IIT-Bombay Excellence in Teaching Award
2017
An institutional teaching award.
Young Faculty Award
2009
Recognition received during his earlier academic career.
IEEE awards and fellowships
Additional recognition in the engineering and research community.
The awards listed above are part of his professional record. They do not, by themselves, establish what happened during the examination incident or resolve the allegations now under investigation.
IIT-Bombay Suryanarayana Doolla Research work
Doolla's research has focused on the engineering systems that help generate, distribute and manage electricity. His areas of specialisation include smart grids, microgrids and renewable energy integration.
A smart grid uses digital monitoring, communication and control to manage electricity networks. Microgrids are smaller electricity networks that can coordinate local power generation, storage and demand. Research into these systems is relevant to the changing requirements of electricity networks as renewable energy sources become more widely integrated.
His academic work in these areas formed part of his professional contribution at IIT-Bombay. The supplied report does not provide a complete list of his publications, research projects or the specific findings associated with each award.
Administrative responsibilities at IIT-Bombay
Doolla's association with the institute was not limited to classroom teaching or laboratory research. He served as the warden of Hostel 6 and later became Dean of Student Affairs. The Dean of Student Affairs role involves student-related administration and institutional responsibilities. His involvement in the organisation of JEE (Advanced), UCEED and CEED also placed him in the institute's wider academic and examination administration.
What happened to Sahil Wakode?
Sahil Wakode, a second-year IIT-Bombay student, died by suicide after an examination incident in which he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and seeking answers through ChatGPT. Following his death, his parents filed a complaint alleging harassment and caste-based discrimination. An FIR was registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, naming Doolla. The allegations remain subject to investigation. The report also states that IIT-Bombay has rejected the allegations and maintained that no disciplinary action had been initiated against Wakode.
Why did IIT-Bombay students protest?
Student protests followed the death and the demands for accountability over the institute's handling of the incident. On September 20, IIT-Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare met students outside the campus gate and signed an 18-point charter of demands.
The charter included action against Doolla. His suspension was reported that evening, while the supplied headline describes his subsequent resignation. The IIT-Bombay Faculty Forum publicly backed the professor, saying that he had performed his duties as an invigilator and followed the institute's prescribed procedure after detecting the alleged examination malpractice.
The disagreement has therefore involved two separate questions: the allegations raised by Wakode's family and the institutional process followed during the examination.
What happens next?
Doolla's future at IIT-Bombay is now connected to the formal investigation into Wakode's death and the demands raised by protesting students. The FIR and the allegations do not, by themselves, establish guilt.
His teaching awards, research work and administrative record provide context about the professor's career before the controversy. They do not determine the outcome of the investigation, which will have to establish the facts surrounding the examination incident and the events that followed.
