BENGALURU: Taking note of the future implications of taking excessive action by sending the staff on examination duty to jail for instructing a student to remove the sacred thread (janivara) before entering the CET hall due to a misunderstanding or lack of awareness, the LXII Additional City Civil and Sessions Court granted bail to three staff members of a private college.
The accused staff members, Sudhakar, Saritha and Girijamma, were in judicial custody for over 15 days.
“Considering the future implications, if such incidents arise out of misunderstanding or lack of proper awareness, and are dealt with in an excessive manner, it may create an atmosphere of fear among the K-CET authorities and staff in the coming days.
It may also result in officials being placed under pressure and fear while conducting examinations, thereby affecting the smooth and fair conduct of the examination process. Further, for such a comparatively minor issue, keeping the accused persons in jail for several days without there being any allegation of physical violence or serious misconduct, and sending them in judicial custody in undue haste without considering the alternative measures, would not be proper or justified,” said Judge Raghavendra S Channabasappa, passing the order on May 11.
On the magistrate rejecting bail, the court observed that the magistrate, without properly appreciating the merits and circumstances of the case, has mechanically rejected bail. The magistrate has failed to consider that the accused Nos 2 and 3 are women and public servants and their dignity, status and family responsibilities, and accused No. 1 is also a public servant.
The court pointed out that the investigating officer issued notice to the accused under Section 35 of BNSS at 4.30 pm after they were called to the police station on April 24, a day after the complaint was registered. Arrest formalities were completed hurriedly, and they were produced before the jurisdictional magistrate, who also mechanically remanded the accused to judicial custody, the court added.
“The entire procedure adopted by the IO and the remand order passed by the Magistrate appear to be contrary to the principles laid down by the apex court in the Arnesh Kumar case, and call for judicial interference and also call for an explanation from the IO,” it noted.
The complainant, the father of a student, stated that on April 23, 2026, his son had come to the K-CET physics examination at the college in Koramangala. He was instructed to remove his janivara.