CET officials booked for allegedly cutting, discarding sacred threads worn by students in Karnataka’s Shivamogga

Police Inspector Ravi Patil said, “We are investigating the matter and will soon take action against the officials responsible for this.”

According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with The Indian
Express, the complainant has alleged that, under the guise of conducting a physical inspection, the examination centre authorities cut the sacred threads worn by students and discarded them in the trash. The authorities reportedly threatened to bar students from entering the examination hall if they wore the sacred thread.

The complaint claims that no rules in the CET admission guidelines prohibit wearing traditional attire or religious symbols, and the action of the authorities violated rights to personal expression and religious freedom.

In Shivamogga, however, one student refused to discard his sacred thread but was allowed to take the exam.

Meanwhile, on April 17, in Bidar, one student, Suchivruth Kulkarni, was reportedly barred from writing the Mathematics paper after refusing to remove his janivara at the CET centre in Sai Spoorthi College.

The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) also took suo motu cognizance of the case in Bidar, recommending that the affected student be allowed to retake the exam.

Members of the Akhila Karnataka Brahmin Mahasabha and various other pro-Hindu organisations held a protest rally in Bidar on Saturday in response to the incident.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has sought reports from both the deputy commissioners (DCs) of Bidar and Shivamogga over the incidents.

H Prasanna, Executive Director, KEA, said, “The DCs are investigating whether there has been any lapse at their end, before submitting the final report to us. Mostly, the home guards, who are now in question, fall under the realm of the district administration and not CET. The ultimate executive agency for CET exams in a district is the district administration.”

KEA introduced a dress code for CET-2025, banning metal jewellery (except mangalasutra and toe rings), multi-pocket trousers, and shoes, but it was silent on religious threads like the janivara.