New Delhi: A Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) constable, Narender Chauhan, was removed from service for misconduct more than five years ago. His wrongdoing — he sent a thumbs-up emoji in response to a message about the murder of a superior officer in an official WhatsApp group. However, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has come to his rescue, directing his reinstatement in service without back wages.
In a 14 February order, the bench comprising justices D. Krishnakumar and R. Vijayakumar observed that Chauhan was “not so conversant” with WhatsApp. “The said thumbs-up signal could also be construed to be an alternative for the word, ‘OK’. Therefore, sharing of the said symbol could never be considered to be celebrating the brutal murder, but is it only an acknowledgement of the fact that the petitioner had seen the said message,” it said.
In February 2018, an assistant commandant was allegedly killed by a constable in Meghalaya, and a message about that incident circulated on the official WhatsApp group of Chauhan’s battalion in Trichy. Chauhan, a constable in the RPSF since 2015, sent a thumbs-up emoji in response.
According to the court judgment, the Railway Protection Special Force saw the response as providing moral support to the accused.
After an inquiry, Chauhan was removed from service in September 2018.
When his appeals before the authorities did not bear favourable results, Chauhan approached the high court in 2021.
A single-judge bench ruled in Chauhan’s favour in June last year. The authorities then filed an appeal against that order in the high court.
‘Sufficient punishment’
Earlier in June last year, when Justice G.R. Swaminathan ruled in Chauhan’s favour, he observed that “no person in his senses will condone the dastardly killing” of the superior officer.
The court accepted Chauhan’s explanation that he sent the thumbs-up by mistake.
“We are in the habit of saying ‘OK’ or ‘achha’… Sometimes, when we receive bad news, even then we utter such expressions. That does not mean that we rejoice for what has happened. It is sheer reflex action. Likewise, the petitioner’s finger might have mechanically touched the thumbs-up symbol,” the court said.
Justice Swaminathan said such matters should be ignored after a warning.
At the time, Chauhan’s lawyer told the court that the constable would be satisfied with being reinstated in service and was not asking for back wages.
The court said it was “sufficient punishment” that Chauhan had been out of employment for five years and had even given up his claim for back wages.
‘Believable’ explanation
Challenging Justice Swaminathan’s order, the authorities submitted that a uniformed service member like Chauhan is expected to maintain a high standard of discipline. They submitted that conduct such as Chauhan’s sends a wrong message to other personnel and affects the morale of officers.
On the other hand, Chauhan once again submitted that he sent the message by mistake.
The two-judge bench upheld the single judge’s order, saying the explanation offered by Chauhan was “believable”, especially since there had been no other allegations against him, and he did not have any bad antecedents.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)