Can’t force Santa Claus caps on employees in a democratic system: Allahabad High court

“Compulsion has been created by the superior authorities of “V Bazar” for wearing Santa Claus Red Cap which is somehow hurting the sentiments of the different faith and beliefs and this type of action is not permitted in the democratic system of the country wherein every citizen is free to follow his/her faith and belief. Applicant along with his superior authorities are hereby warned not to repeat this type of instructions in shape of disturbing the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of the working place amongst their employees,” the court said on September 10.

The criminal proceedings originated from a case registered in Agra under sections for offences relating to hurting religious sentiments and intentional insult. After investigation, the investigating officer submitted a charge sheet on September 20, 2023. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Agra, passed an order on December 21, 2023, summoning the applicant.

Justice Saurabh Srivastava also warned the authorities against repeating instructions that could disturb peace and harmony among employees at the workplace. (Image enhanced using AI)

Warning over Santa Claus caps

The order then records the court’s observations about the workplace instruction. The high court said the documents attached to the application “crystal clearly” showed that superior authorities of “V Bazar” had created a compulsion for wearing Santa Claus red caps. The court said this was “somehow hurting the sentiments of the different faith and beliefs”.

The court added that such action was not permitted in a democratic system where every citizen is free to follow his or her faith and beliefs. It then warned the applicant and his superior authorities not to repeat such instructions in a manner that could disturb the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of the workplace among employees.

Applicant’s opposition

The applicant’s lawyer challenged the criminal proceedings against him on a legal ground. He argued that the offences alleged against the applicant were non-cognizable and, therefore, the police could not proceed with the charge sheet as a regular State case.

According to the lawyer, the police report should instead have been treated as a complaint under the law. He relied on an earlier Allahabad High Court judgment to support this argument. The State opposed the applicant’s plea to quash the proceedings, but its counsel did not dispute the applicant’s argument about how the case should have been treated. Since the issue before the high court was purely legal, the court did not consider it necessary to issue notice to the second opposite party.

Why summoning order was set aside

The high court examined the relevant provision defining a complaint under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Its explanation provides that when a police officer’s investigation discloses the commission of a non-cognizable offence, the police report is deemed to be a complaint and the police officer submitting it is deemed to be the complainant.

Applying the provision to the present matter, the court held that the chargesheet submitted by the investigating officer had to be treated as a complaint. The court said that the magistrate had committed a legal error by taking cognisance of the matter as a state case. It set aside the December 21, 2023 summoning order, but only in respect of the applicant before the high court.

The court did not, however, hold that the underlying allegations had been disproved or that the matter could never proceed. However, it clarified that its order would not prevent the concerned court from proceeding with the case by treating it as a complaint case, if required, in accordance with law. The application was accordingly partly allowed.