The Allahabad High Court has directed reinstatement of an officer who was sacked by Uttar Pradesh (UP) government for forwarding a WhatsApp message that accused Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of practicing casteism [Amar Singh v State of UP]..Justice Alok Mathur ruled that the dismissal of Amar Singh, who was an Additional Private Secretary in the State Secretariat, was disproportionate to the nature of offence.The Court said the only evidence against Singh was his own admission in writing to the government that he had inadvertently forwarded the message and deleted it on realization of the mistake.“There was no substantial evidence from the State Government presented before the Inquiry Officer or the Technical Committee to support the claim that the petitioner intentionally circulated the message to damage the Government's reputation,” the Court said..The Court added that since the department failed to provide evidence that the message was read or circulated widely, it was speculative to conclude that the circulation caused harm to the government’s reputation.In 2018, Singh had received a WhatsApp message which read as follows,“As per UGC regulations, opportunities for the OBC and Scheduled Caste communities have effectively been closed. In this era of Ramrajya, Chief Minister Thakur Ajay Singh Yogi and Deputy Chief Minister Pandit Dinesh Sharma, while purportedly eradicating casteism, have appointed 52 individuals from their own caste as Assistant Professors out of a total of 71 positions in Gorakhpur University.”(The above is the English translation of the original text).The message was forwarded to a WhatsApp group by Singh. Though no complaint was filed against Singh, he is voluntarily stated to have written to the government that the message was forwarded inadvertently when he attempted to delete it.The government then initiated a department inquiry against him, alleging that the objectionable message had tarnished the government’s reputation. In 2020, his services were terminated..The Court found that the inquiry against Singh was conducted in violation of the rules. It also noted that technical inquiry against him was conducted ex parte.“Therefore, it is evident that the inquiry was conducted in gross violation of the principles of natural justice. The respondents admission that the procedure adopted was contrary to the prescribed rules renders the action arbitrary and illegal, making the resultant decision void,” it ruled..The Bench described Singh’s admission as a significant factor and thus opined that a lesser punishment should have been awarded.The department should have acknowledged the petitioner's fairness in admitting the mistake and could have issued a warning instead of imposing a harsh penalty, it added.“In my opinion, the punishment should have been more lenient, such as an adverse entry in his service records or a censure. As a government servant, he should have exercised caution when dealing with such objectionable content, but his actions were not malicious. A more proportionate response would have been appropriate given the circumstances.”.The Court also noted that Singh had taken steps to mitigate any potential damage by deleting the message and informing others.Therefore, it granted relief to the officer by setting aside the dismissal order.“The Court orders the petitioner's reinstatement with all consequential benefits. The State Government is directed to impose a minor punishment, such as a warning, taking into account the petitioner's admission of the mistake and lack of evidence of any damage caused by the message,” it added. .Advocates Gaurav Mehrotra, Akber Ahmad, Alina Masoodi and Ravindra Singh represented the petitioner.Standing Counsel Neeraj Tripathi represented the State. [Read Judgment]
