Bombay High Court reinstates TISS professor retired over WhatsApp group

The Bombay High Court has quashed the compulsory retirement of Swapan Garain, a professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), ruling that his actions did not justify such severe punishment. Garain had been suspended in 2016 and forcibly retired in 2017 following allegations that he violated the institute's code of conduct by creating an unauthorized WhatsApp group titled ‘TISSians Career Impact2’.

TISS had alleged that Garain used the institute's logo and operated a parallel placement service for personal gain. However, the court rejected these claims, finding no evidence that Garain charged money for services. Instead, the bench found that the group was used by alumni to share job offers and industry information.

A bench of Justices MS Karnik and Sandesh D Patil described the punishment as ‘strikingly excessive’ and ‘perverse,’ noting that the lack of institutional permission for the group was not a sufficient reason to end an accomplished career. Quoting Lord Diplock, the court remarked, ‘You cannot use a sledge-hammer to crack a nut.’ The court ordered TISS to reinstate Garain with 50 percent of his retroactive back wages.