IITM BS Malpractice Rules: What Counts and What Happens

The full IITM BS conduct rules are not printed in the student handbook. The DS handbook links to a separate Non Academic Rules document and to consolidated malpractice data published by the programme. What the handbook and the official website do say directly covers a few clear cases. Misstating your location in a remote exam is malpractice. A plagiarised project gets a U grade and may lead to disciplinary action. And any malpractice on your record rules you out of the Certificate of Merit or Distinction.

Where the rules are written

We have not reviewed the linked documents themselves, so this post covers only what the handbook and the official website state. Read all three before your exams.

What the official sources call malpractice or a violation

1. Misstating your location in a remote exam. Students writing from outside India through remote proctoring must verify their location. If you fail to declare that you are in India, or misrepresent your location, you are not allowed to take the exam, and it is treated as malpractice. This is in the exam centre policy (updated 15 July 2025) in both the DS and ES handbooks.
2. Being in India on exam day without telling the team. The DS academics page says an overseas student who will be in India on exam day must inform the team in advance, so they can write at a centre in India. Breaking these norms counts as malpractice.
3. A plagiarised project. The DS handbook's project fee table says a submission found to be plagiarised gets a U grade. You may face disciplinary action, and you must register and pay for the project again.
4. Misusing the IIT Madras name in research. The handbook calls this a violation, not malpractice. Listing "IIT Madras" as your affiliation without a faculty member's guidance can lead to disciplinary action as severe as cancellation of your registration.

What can happen

The project fee matters here. A DS project costs Rs 2,500 for students who joined up to September 2025 and Rs 6,000 for those who joined from January 2026, with category waivers applying. So a plagiarised project costs you that fee again, plus at least one more term. That extra term can also put pressure on your diploma checkpoints.

The prize rule

The rule was updated on 14 April 2025 and appears in both handbooks. To get a Certificate of Merit or a Certificate of Distinction, you need a clean academic and disciplinary record. Any instance of academic malpractice or disciplinary violation in your history disqualifies you, however high your CGPA.

For example, in DS the Certificate of Academic Distinction needs a CGPA of 9.50 or more. A student with a CGPA of 9.6 and one old malpractice case would still not get it. See IITM BS prizes and medals.

A rule that is strict but not called malpractice

Going to any centre other than the one on your hall ticket is not allowed. You will not be let in, whatever the reason. The policy does not call this malpractice, but you still lose that exam. See the exam centre policy.

How to stay on the right side

• Read the Important Instructions for Exams document before every exam cycle.
• If you write remotely, declare your real location. If you will be in India on exam day, tell the team early.
• Write your own project code and reports. For the BDM project, the handbook allows web scraped data only if you share the source. See how projects are graded.
• Publish independent research in your personal capacity. Use the IIT Madras affiliation only for work guided by a faculty member.

Common questions

Where can I read the complete list of rules?

Open section 24, "Non Academic Rules", in the DS handbook. It links to the full rules document and to the consolidated malpractice data. The ES handbook has no such section, so ES students should ask support which rules document applies.

Can an old case stop my prize years later?

Yes. The handbook says any instance of malpractice or disciplinary violation in your history leads to disqualification from the Certificate of Merit or Distinction.

Is my result cancelled straight away if there is a malpractice case?

The official website says results may be withheld pending an investigation and the findings of the exam committee. It does not list fixed penalties for each case, so read the Non Academic Rules document.