The Bombay High Court (HC) has quashed an order by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) compulsorily retiring a professor for creating a WhatsApp group for TISS alumni, observing that merely creating such a group without the employer’s permission cannot be a ground to end an accomplished career, news agency PTI reported.

The HC said the punishment imposed on the professor was “perverse” and “grossly disproportionate”. Quoting English barrister and judge Lord Diplock, a bench of Justices MS Karnik and Sandesh Patil remarked, “you cannot use a sledge-hammer to crack a nut”.