Supreme Court: Workplace Reprimands by Seniors Not a Criminal Offense

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): In an important decision, the Supreme Court has said that scolding by seniors at the workplace cannot be considered as 'intentional insult' and criminal action cannot be taken on it. It also said that allowing criminal charges against individuals in such cases can have bad consequences and it can spoil the necessary disciplinary environment at the workplace. A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Mehta said that mere abuse, rudeness, indifference or impoliteness will not be considered as intentional insult under Section 504 of the IPC.

During the hearing of the case, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kadol and Sandeep Mehta clarified that mere words spoken in anger, rude behaviour or rude language do not fall under the category of intentional insult under Section 504 of the IPC. It is worth noting that under Section 504, if a person intentionally insults someone, which is likely to disturb the peace, then he can be punished with up to two years of imprisonment. From July 2024, this section has been replaced by Section 352 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS). In fact, the Supreme Court gave this decision while quashing a 2022 criminal case.