Reacting With 'Thumbs Up' Emoji To WhatsApp Message Informing Of Murder Does Not Amount To Celebrating The Murder: Madras High Court

The Madurai bench of Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice R Vijayakumar observed that the thumbs-up signal was also an alternative for the word “OK” and sharing the same could not be considered as celebrating the brutal murder. The court also noted that the employee, who was not so conversant with WhatsApp had only meant to acknowledge that he had seen the message. Thus, noting that the employee did not have any antecedents, the court held his explanation to be believable.

“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 of the brutal murder, but is it only an acknowledgement of the fact that the petitioner had seen the said message. Therefore, the explanation offered by the writ petitioner is believable especially in the light of the fact that no other allegations have been made against him. The petitioner does not have any bad antecedents,” the court said.

The court was hearing an appeal preferred by the Director General of the Railway Protection Force. The respondent Narender Chauhan, who was the original writ petitioner, had joined the service as a Constable in 2015. In 2018, when the Assistant Commandant was brutally murdered by another constable and the news was shared in the official WhatsApp group of the Constable, Chauhan put up a thumbs-up symbol. The Railway Protection Special Force saw this as a moral support to the accused and issued a charge memo.

The disciplinary authority, after inquiry, ordered Chauhan to be removed from service. This was upheld by the Appellate Authority and the Revisional Authority. When a writ petition was filed challenging the removal, the single judge held that Chauhan had erroneously shared the thumbs-up symbol and directed the authorities to reinstate him. This was challenged by the force in the present proceedings.

It was argued that as a member of the Uniformed Service, Chauhan was expected to maintain a high standard of discipline, and sharing the thumbs-up message was clearly a mark of celebrity to the brutal death of a superior officer which amounted to misconduct. It was argued that such misconduct would not only send a wrong message to other personnel but also affect the morale of the officers.

Chauhan on the other hand submitted that he had no intention of affecting the morale of the Uniformed Force or denigrating the higher official who was brutally murdered and had only erroneously shared the emoji.

The division bench agreed with the finding of the single judge and held that Chauhan had only erroneously shared the emoji and that the writ court was right in setting aside the removal from service.

Thus, finding no materials in the appeal, the court dismissed it.

Counsel for the Appellant: Mr.K.Govindarajan Deputy Solicitor General of India

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr.R..Kavin Prasath For Mr.K.Mavoa Jacob

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 104

Case Title: The Director General and Others v Narender Chauhan

Case No: W.A(MD).No.118 of 2024

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