The Allahabad High Court has warned a workplace against forcing employees to wear Santa Claus red caps, observing that such instructions could hurt the sentiments of people belonging to different faiths and disturb a peaceful and harmonious work environment, as reported by LawBeat.
The court also set aside the summoning order issued against an employee in a criminal case, holding that the police charge sheet for the alleged non-cognizable offences should have been treated as a complaint case.
Justice Saurabh Srivastava passed the order on September 10 while hearing a petition filed by Vikram Singh alias Vishwa Vikram Singh. Singh had challenged a charge sheet dated September 20, 2023, the cognizance and summoning order dated December 21, 2023, passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra, and the criminal proceedings arising from the case.
Case Background
The criminal case arose from an FIR registered at Sadar Bazar police station in Agra under Sections 298 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), now corresponding to Sections 298 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Singh approached the High Court seeking quashing of the proceedings.
During the hearing, his counsel made a limited legal submission, arguing that Sections 298 and 504 IPC were non-cognizable offences. Therefore, the charge sheet submitted by the investigating officer could not have been treated as a police case.
The counsel relied on the explanation to Section 2(d) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which provides that a police report submitted after investigation into a case disclosing a non-cognizable offence is deemed to be a complaint. The police officer making such a report is also deemed to be the complainant.
The State opposed the petition but did not dispute this legal submission, the court noted.
The High Court accepted the legal objection and held that the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer under Sections 298 and 504 IPC had to be treated as a complaint.
“In view of the above explanation, charge sheet submitted by the concerned Investigating Officer in the present case under Sections 298, 504 I.P.C. shall be treated as complaint,” the court said.
The court held that the Magistrate had committed a legal error by taking cognizance of the matter as a State case.
Accordingly, the 21 December 2023 summoning order was set aside insofar as it concerned Singh.
However, the High Court clarified that this did not bring the criminal proceedings to an end. It said that the concerned court could proceed with the matter by treating it as a complaint case, if required, in accordance with law.
High Court Warns Against Forcing Employees To Wear Santa Claus Caps
The High Court also took note of documents filed with the petition concerning instructions issued at the workplace.
The court said the documents “crystal clearly” showed that the superior authorities of “V Bazar” had created a compulsion for employees to wear Santa Claus red caps.
The court observed that the instruction was “somehow hurting the sentiments of the different faith and beliefs”.
It further said that such an action was not permitted in a democratic system where every citizen is free to follow his or her faith and belief.
The High Court also warned Singh and his superior authorities against repeating such instructions.
“Applicant along with his superior authorities are hereby warned not to repeat this type of instructions,” the court said, adding that such directions could disturb the “peaceful and harmonious atmosphere” of the workplace.
The application was accordingly partly allowed.
The court’s direction concerning the criminal proceedings was confined to Singh and did not prevent the concerned court from proceeding with the matter as a complaint case in accordance with law.
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