IIT Bombay investigates plagiarism allegation against professor

MUMBAI: IIT Bombay is investigating an allegation of plagiarism reported against a professor from the institute. A mail alleging plagiarised content in his thesis and a few of his published papers, along with the original source, was sent to the institute's administration about three weeks ago. While institute authorities refused to divulge details, they said the matter is being investigated.

A professor known to the academic in question, though, said he is quite senior and a prolific researcher with dozens of papers published in A-level journals. He has a sharp eye for research, added the professor. His profile page shows over 50 published papers and chapters in several published books. He has been supervising PhD students, and has also taken up consultancy work.

The anonymous mail documenting the allegation in the professor's thesis and some of his published papers stated that the work is in public domain and can be cross-checked using any plagiarism detection software. It mentioned that "up to 60% of the content in the first two chapters of his thesis is plagiarised and multiple paragraphs and sentences are verbatim copied from other sources". It added that the remaining chapters could not be examined due to time constraints and lack of access to plagiarism software. The mail has been sent to the common faculty email pool on the campus. The professor could not be reached for comment.

Another professor from the institute opined that the complaint may have been filed with a mischievous intent, noting that theses from that period are not available online. He said, "It is extremely difficult to access those book chapters/research papers online. Someone appears to have gone to considerable lengths to obtain them. It is unlikely to be the handiwork of students, who have limited access to such records. UGC regulations on India has come only after 2010. By trying to target such past records when electronic publishing was not common and when such softwares were not easily available and when the rules were not easily established clearly allows for foul play to harm the reputation built brick by brick."

A PhD student from the institute said that the institute, known for its academic excellence and integrity, should address this issue at the earliest and take action as per their policies. And added that the institute should follow equal standards for students and professors and address this violation soon after thorough investigation. There are also allegations that the institute has not acted on the complaint and has not yet formed a committee. An institute spokesperson, though, denied the allegations and said that the matter is under investigation and will take time. No other detail about the investigation was shared.

An analysis done by the India Research Watchdog, earlier reported by TOI, stated that 58 research papers by IIT faculty members were retracted between 2006 and 2023. These were mainly due to plagiarism of article and text, and duplication of article, and most of the retractions were from 12 older IITs, it stated.

For students, the premier institutes follow a stringent policy for academic dishonesty and inquiries are done at the departmental as well as institutional level.