Merely starting unauthorised WhatsApp group can't end employee's career: Bombay HC

Merely starting a WhatsApp group without the permission of an organisation cannot, by itself, justify a punishment as severe as compulsory retirement, particularly when there is no finding that the employee derived any personal financial gain from the group, the Bombay High Court said.

The observation came while hearing a plea filed by 57-year-old Swapan Garain, who had worked with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai and faced punitive action for creating a WhatsApp group.

Garain, who worked at TISS for 31 years as a professor in its School of Social Work, was suspended in March 2016 and, in September 2017, was subsequently punished with compulsory retirement by the Director and Disciplinary Authority of the institution.

Garain approached the High Court seeking reinstatement with continuity of service, full back wages and other consequential benefits.

The case concerned a WhatsApp group that Garain had allegedly created without the institute's permission. TISS claimed that he had created a parallel group named TISSians Career Impact2, using the institute's official logo.

According to TISS, this amounted to a violation of Clause 21 of the Code of Conduct applicable to its employees. The institute alleged that Garain had created the group for placement services and, by doing so, had breached his service conditions.

TISS further alleged that the WhatsApp group was effectively a placement service through which students and alumni were being solicited for Garain's personal gains. The institute contended that this amounted to engaging in the business of providing placement services, which was prohibited under the Service Rules for a full-time, permanent faculty member.

The institute also alleged that Garain's use of its logo amounted to an infringement of its intellectual rights. It further accused him of using the institute's resources, knowledge and information in breach of his service conditions, besides alleging that such use amounted to a criminal offence.

However, after examining the facts and the conversations in the WhatsApp group, a bench of Justice MS Karnik and Justice Sandesh D Patil questioned the basis for imposing such a severe punishment.

The bench observed that it was difficult to understand what prejudice had actually been caused to TISS by the creation of the group.

"There is nothing to indicate that Garain was charging money for the placement services," the court said.

The bench examined chats shared in the group and noted that they indicated that the group was being used by people looking for CSR opportunities in Mumbai. Referring to one of the chats, the court observed that it was clear that the person who had sent the message did not want to apply for the opportunity, but that the information could be useful to another person or member of the WhatsApp group.

The court noted that there was nothing to indicate that Garain had received any personal gain from the group.

The High Court acknowledged that Garain had not obtained permission from TISS before forming the WhatsApp group. However, it held that the absence of permission, by itself, could not justify the imposition of such an excessive punishment.

"Merely because permission was not obtained from TISS would not be cogent ground for imposing such excessive punishment upon Garain," the bench said.

The court also rejected the finding that Garain had created a parallel placement service, describing that finding as "totally perverse".

It noted that there was nothing to suggest that the placement services were offered for consideration or that any such consideration was diverted for Garain's benefit.

"As a matter of fact, the members of the WhatsApp group merely shared the placement offers in the industry on the WhatsApp Group," the bench observed.

The court said the punishment of compulsory retirement was disproportionate to the conduct alleged against Garain.

"The said punishment is so strikingly excessive that it cannot be allowed to be remained uncorrected while exercising the powers of judicial review," the bench said.

The court further observed, "Merely starting a WhatsApp group by an employee without the permission of the organisation itself is not sufficient to put an end to long-standing accomplished career of a person."

The High Court consequently set aside Garain's suspension and the compulsory retirement order issued by TISS.

During the proceedings, Garain submitted that he would be satisfied if he was granted 50 per cent of his back wages. The court accepted the request and directed that 50 per cent of the back wages be granted to him.- EndsPublished By: Ajmal Published On: Sep 18, 2026 14:59 IST