Published Jul 27, 2026 | 8:53 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 27, 2026 | 8:53 PM
File photo of BJP leader CT Ravi.
Synopsis: The Karnataka High Court has granted interim relief to former minister and BJP MLC CT Ravi, restraining the Chikkamagaluru police from taking precipitative action against him over an FIR accusing him of promoting communal enmity through derogatory remarks against Muslims during a protest over the alleged NEET paper leak. In a dog-whistle-laden speech, Ravi questioned what “mullahs” had to do with the NEET issue and suggested that the Muslim community had no genuine concern over the paper leak.
The Karnataka High Court on Monday granted interim relief to former minister and BJP MLC CT Ravi, directing the Chikkamagaluru police not to take any precipitative action against him in connection with an FIR registered over his alleged derogatory remarks against the Muslim community.
Justice SR Krishna Kumar passed the interim order while hearing Ravi’s petition challenging the FIR and issued notice to the State government, seeking its response.
The FIR was registered by the Chikkamagaluru Town Police on a complaint filed by Mudassir Pasha, president of the local Jamia Masjid.
The complainant alleged that Ravi’s speech during a march organised by the “Youth for Nation” group in Chikkamagaluru on 23 July over the NEET controversy promoted communal enmity, hurt religious sentiments and spread hatred between communities, specifically targeting Muslims.
The case was registered under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita following directions from the Principal Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Chikkamagaluru.
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Videos from the event show Ravi asking what ‘mullahs’ had to do with the NEET protest, suggesting the Muslim community was illiterate.
“What I want to ask you is: what does a mullah have to do with the NEET exam? Even if you split open his chest, you won’t find three letters written there. Yet he comes and says he’s fighting against NEET. They say Dharmendra Pradhan should resign. They say, ‘Remove Modi’,” he said.
“I want to ask you: even if your chest were split open, those three letters wouldn’t be inside your heart, yet you’re talking about NEET? And what do the CAA and NRC have to do with the NEET exam or with the leak of the NEET examination question paper?
He alleged that those who opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act, the ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ were among the speakers at the protests and claimed that they did not have any genuine concerns about the NEET issue, rather they only cared about supposed laws that were being implemented to cut off their alleged foreign funding.
FIR Filed Against C.T. Ravi Over Alleged Hate Speech in Chikkamagaluru
Chikkamagaluru
Police have registered a case against #BJP leader and former minister C.T. Ravi following a complaint alleging that he delivered a hate speech targeting the Muslim community during a public… pic.twitter.com/ZcDZYG4z5p
— Yasir Mushtaq (@path2shah) July 25, 2026
“Those who opposed the CAA, the ‘Tukde Tukde gang,’ come there and speak. Do you know who the Tukde Tukde gang is? They are the people who shouted slogans like, ‘Bharat tere tukde honge, Inshallah, Inshallah’ (‘India will be broken into pieces, God willing’). Such people participate in that protest,” he said.
“They are afraid that laws are being brought in to stop fake NGOs from receiving illegal funding. Their worry is that the source of the money they have been receiving will be cut off, and that they will no longer have the opportunity to carry out any kind of conspiracy here. They are not genuinely concerned about the examination, the irregularities that occurred, or the difficulties faced by the students.”
Earlier, the Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkuta had accused the BJP of resorting to communal polarisation instead of addressing the substance of the NEET protests and demanded strict legal action against Ravi.
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Ravi, meanwhile, has denied the allegations, maintaining that he had only stated facts and had not spoken against the Muslim community. In his petition before the High Court, he contended that his remarks were not directed at any religious community and sought quashing of the FIR.
Tension prevailed on Sunday after the Chikkamagaluru police pasted a notice directing him to appear for questioning on Monday outside Ravi’s residence when he allegedly refused to accept it.
BJP workers tore down the notice and raised slogans against the Congress government.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
