Candidate barred from taking exam with conch shell bangles, files PIL

Kolkata: A Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) candidate on Tuesday filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) after she was allegedly not allowed to appear for the test wearing conch shell bangles (shankha).

After a gap of five years, TET was held across West Bengal on December 11. The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) had held the test under heavy security and had issued a list of regulations to ensure that no irregularities took place. Reportedly a candidate identified as Moumita Chakraborty claimed that she was asked to remove the bangles while entering the examination centre. The case will likely be heard by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj.

The petitioner had also reportedly filed a complaint against WBBPE president Gautam Pal at the Bidhannagar South Police Station.

Married Bengali women normally wear these conch shell bangles and are an integral part of Hindu symbolic and religious tradition.