Justice for Dr. Anveshna Srivastava: Demand accountability at IIT Kanpur and an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her termination at IIT Kanpur

We demand an independent and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the treatment and termination of Dr. Anveshna Srivastava, Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Science, IIT Kanpur, and into serious allegations of professional, ethical and behavioural misconduct and institutional inaction raised by her.

Dr. Anveshna Srivastava joined IIT Kanpur as an Assistant Professor on 28 January 2025, after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor since September 2023 in the same department. Her one-year probation should have ended on 28 January 2026. 

Dr. Anveshna repeatedly approached IIT Kanpur authorities regarding serious allegations of violence, harassment, intimidation, professional misconduct, and inappropriate illicit relationships on the IITK campus involving her husband, Prof. Nisheeth Srivastava, a full Professor at IIT Kanpur (Dept. of Computer Science, Cognitive Science and Wadhwani Centre of AI). An FIR was registered against Nisheeth on 28 July 2026, under Sections 85, 115(2), 352, 351(3) and 324(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), following months of complaints by Dr. Anveshna. 

Despite repeatedly seeking institutional protection, including safe accommodation for herself and her two minor children, Anveshna received no effective institutional protection and was ultimately compelled to leave the campus residence and move into rented accommodation. Her request for HRA was also denied. Her multiple complaints and requests to the Director, the CGS Department, Gender Cell, Security, and senior administrators remained largely unanswered and/or unresolved. 

At the same time, an institutional Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) was constituted against her. She was asked to respond without being provided the underlying complaints or adequate details of the allegations, raising serious concerns regarding procedural fairness. She subsequently submitted extensive complaints concerning professional misconduct and the hostile work environment with annexures and multiple pieces of evidence against concerned faculty. To date, there has been no information about the fate of her complaints or the findings of the FFC.

Despite receiving commendations from the Director for all three courses she taught, developing multiple educational technologies including ARgonaut and Saathi, receiving an Initiation Grant of approximately ₹22 lakh in April 2026 and supervising student research, Dr. Anveshna was informed about her termination on 17th September 2026, reportedly on grounds relating to journal publications and lack of external funding. The termination occurred 7 months after her probation should have ended, without any notice, warning, or an opportunity to remedy the alleged deficiencies. Following her termination, Prof. Nisheeth was reportedly asked to teach the very course that Dr. Anveshna had designed and was teaching.

Dr. Anveshna had herself expressed, in writing months before her termination, her fear that her husband's influence within IIT Kanpur and close connection with the administration could affect her employment and that she might be treated unfairly.

We are concerned that, after Anveshna lost her institutional position and financial security, she and her children have remained vulnerable while the faculty member against whom she had complained continued to enjoy institutional standing and professional privileges.

Therefore, we demand:

1. An independent, impartial inquiry into IIT Kanpur's handling of Dr. Anveshna's complaints and the circumstances of her termination.
2. A thorough investigation into the alleged gross professional and ethical misconduct of Nisheeth Srivastava and other involved faculty, insofar as these matters fall within the Institute's jurisdiction.
3. Appropriate disciplinary action against those found responsible.
4. Transparent examination of the decisions and processes that led to Dr. Anveshna's termination, including the FFC, DFAC, IFAC and BOG processes.
5. Protection for Dr. Anveshna and her children from further harassment, intimidation and professional retaliation.

This petition does not seek to replace or prejudge the criminal case, custody proceedings or Anveshna's judicial challenge to her termination. It demands that IIT Kanpur fulfil its own responsibility to investigate complaints, ensure procedural fairness, hold those responsible accountable, and protect institutional integrity.

Why does this matter to all of us?

IIT Kanpur is one of India’s premier public institutions, supported by public funds and entrusted with a high degree of public trust. As alumni, teachers, students, parents and members of the public, we have a legitimate stake in how such an institution exercises its power and responds to serious complaints.

IITs continue to have significantly low representation of women among their faculty and leadership. In this context, how an institution responds when a woman faculty member raises serious concerns about safety, harassment and professional misconduct matters far beyond one individual case.

We look to institutions of IIT Kanpur’s calibre to uphold fairness, due process, safety, academic integrity and accountability. Asking for an independent inquiry is therefore not interference; it is a legitimate demand for transparency from an institution that serves the public.

What message does institutional inaction send to women who stand up for their rights, report misconduct or seek protection? Does it tell them that speaking up may come at the cost of their careers?

By joining this campaign, we are asking IIT Kanpur to uphold the standards of accountability, fairness, and institutional integrity that the public has the right to expect and to ensure that no woman is made to feel that asserting her rights is a professional liability.