Can Thumbs up emoji on WhatsApp land you in trouble? Madras High Court answers

The Madras High Court recently upheld a single-judge order for reinstatement of a Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable who had been removed from service for using a thumbs up (👍) emoji for a WhatsApp message related to the murder of a superior officer in Meghalaya [The Director General Railway Protection Force v. Narender Chauhan]..The division bench of Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice R Vijayakumar said the thumbs up emoji could be construed as an alternative for the word ‘OK’ and not a celebration of murder. “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 [Constable] had seen the said message," it added..The RPF Constable Narendra Chauhan had been removed from service for misconduct for using thumbs up emoji to react to the message about an Assistant Commandant's murder by a Constable in 2018.The message had been posted in an official WhatsApp group. The sharing of the emoji was seen as a "moral support to the murder" and after enquiry, Chauhan was removed from service. In 2021, Chauhan moved the High Court against his dismissal. A single-judge last year opined that Chauhan had mistakenly used the emoji and directed the authorities to reinstate him without back wages. .The RPF filed an appeal against it. Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) of India K Govindarajan contended that Chauhan being a member of the uniformed service, was expected to maintain a high standard of discipline. It was also argued that the use of a thumbs up emoji on a message relating to the brutal murder of a superior officer was “clearly a mark" of celebration and therefore misconduct.The petitioner’s offer to forego his back wages cannot be considered to be a mitigating factor for ordering reinstatement, the DSG submitted further..Considering the submissions, the Court opined that Chauhan was not well conversant with WhatsApp and had erroneously used the emoji. It found the explanation by him believable considering that there were no other allegations against him.“The petitioner [Chauhan] does not have any bad antecedents,” it added..Thus, the division bench ruled that the single-judge was right in setting aside the order of removal from service and directing reinstatement without back wages. “In view of the above said facts, there are no merits in the writ appeal. The writ appeal stands dismissed,” it ordered..Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) of India K Govindarajan represented the RPFAdvocates R Kavin Prasath and K Mavoa Jacob represented the Constable Narendra Chauhan[Read Judgment]