The Rajasthan High Court has set aside the order suspending a government school teacher for posting allegedly objectionable comments about a minister on social media, Bar and Bench reported on Saturday.

In an order issued on May 12, Justice Farjand Ali held that the action against Lal Singh Chouhan, a Class 3 teacher, was legally unsustainable.

Chouhan was suspended by the Banswara district education officer on September 23. A chargesheet issued the same day alleged that he had posted inappropriate comments on WhatsApp that tarnished the image of a minister and the education department, Live Law reported.

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Challenging the order, the teacher argued before the High Court that the action was arbitrary, beyond the officer’s jurisdiction and not supported by the 1958 Rajasthan Civil Services Classification, Control and Appeal Rules, according to Bar and Bench.

Agreeing with this, the court said that even if the allegations were assumed to be true, they could not justify bypassing the statutory framework governing suspension.

The judge observed that allegations of damaging a minister’s image did not give the administration “unbridled authority” to suspend an employee.

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“Administrative convenience or subjective perception cannot supplant mandatory legal requirements,” the court said.

It added: “The district education officer is indeed a statutory functionary, but certainly not the ruler of a dynasty empowered to govern according to personal predilections or administrative absolutism.”

The state had also failed to identify any statutory basis for the action, said the judge.

The court rejected the argument that the teacher’s conduct justified suspension because it allegedly harmed institutional discipline and public perception. It held that such allegations could form the basis of a departmental inquiry conducted in accordance with law and ordered that Chouhan be reinstated immediately with all benefits.

Edited by Sneha.