M.P. HC stays suspension of govt teacher who faced action for mimicking PM Modi in satire video

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has stayed the suspension of a government teacher who faced the administration’s action after he mimicked Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a satire video over the hike in LPG prices. 

Saket Kumar Purohit, a primary school teacher in Shivpuri district’s Pohri block, was suspended on March 13 by district education officer (DEO) Vivek Shrivastava in a late night order following a written complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Pritam Lodhi.

Mr. Purohit was accused of posting “an objectionable video with an intent to cause disturbance in society and damaging the image of the [education] department”, and violating M.P. Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965. 

In the video, Mr. Purohit is heard saying that due to the increase in gas prices, people would go back to eating rotis cooked on traditional stoves and it would narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. 

On March 25, a single bench of Justice Ashish Shroti in Gwalior said that the suspension order is found to have been issued in haste the same day of the complaint and did not “contemplate any inquiry”.

“It is seen that on March 12, at about 6 p.m., the alleged offending video was uploaded by the petitioner [Mr. Purohit] on his Facebook account. On March 13, respondent no.4 [Mr. Lodhi] wrote a letter to respondent no.3 [Mr. Shrivastava] seeking action against the petitioner. On the very same day, the impugned order came to be passed. It is thus evident that respondent no.3 did not consider the justifiability or desirability of placing the petitioner under suspension. Also, the impugned order does not contemplate any inquiry,” the court said in the stay order, adding that the DEO had failed to follow the government procedure. 

The court also said that the DEO had acted “under the dictates” of the MLA whereas he is required to “reconsider the matter by applying his mind to the facts and circumstances of the case”.

The court stayed Mr. Purohit’s suspension and directed the DEO to reconsider the matter and issue a fresh order. 

Mr. Purohit’s counsel, Advocate Krishna Kartikey Sharma, argued in the court that the video did not contain any objectionable material which could cause disturbance in society nor did it violate the Conduct Rules. 

“My dear brothers and sisters, did gas prices decrease or not? They did not. Did gas prices increase or not? They increased. Gas prices increased because eating roti cooked on gas also creates gas in the stomach. And if gas is created in the stomach, you would fall sick and if you fell sick, the nation would fall sick,” Mr. Purohit is heard saying in the viral video, mimicking Mr. Modi. 

Following the suspension, Mr. Purohit had, however, said that “action taken without a hearing is not justified” and later challenged the action before the High Court.