The Bombay High Court has quashed the compulsory retirement of Tata Institute of Social Sciences professor Dr Swapan Garain, ruling that creating a WhatsApp group for TISS alumni without the institute’s permission could not justify ending his career.
A bench of Justices M S Karnik and Sandesh Patil described the punishment imposed on Garain as “perverse” and “grossly disproportionate” in its September 16 judgment. Quoting English judge Lord Diplock, the court said, “You cannot use a sledge-hammer to crack a nut.”
The court set aside the order compulsorily retiring Garain and directed TISS to pay him 50% of his back wages from the date of termination until his superannuation. The judgment followed a petition challenging a 2017 disciplinary order and seeking reinstatement.
Garain had joined TISS as a professor in 1985 and was also an alumnus of the institute, according to his plea. He contended that he was entitled to continue in service until the age of 65 but had been compulsorily retired at the age of 58.
The disciplinary action centred on a WhatsApp group titled “TISSians Career Impact2”, which Garain had created for TISS alumni. The group was used to share information and engage in placement-related services, the court noted. The judgment said there was nothing to indicate that Garain had charged money for those services.
The allegations against him included creating the group using TISS’s logo and using it for activities such as soliciting students and alumni for personal gain. Garain argued that the punishment was disproportionate to the alleged misconduct and should be quashed.
The High Court held that merely creating the group without the institute’s permission could not be a cogent ground for imposing excessive punishment. It also noted that Garain was a person of repute who had served as a professor at TISS since 1985.
The ruling places the disciplinary dispute within the court’s assessment of proportionality between alleged misconduct and punishment. In this case, the court found that compulsory retirement was not justified by the charge described in the proceedings.
The order requires TISS to implement the court’s directions by paying Garain 50% of his back wages from the date of termination until the date of his superannuation. The judgment also quashes the compulsory retirement order challenged by the professor.
