R.M. BORDE, J.

1. Heard. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and hard finally by consent of learned Counsel for respective parties.

2. The petitioner is functioning as an Assistant Town Planner in the Town Planning department of the Municipal Corporation since last 19 years and according to him, he is discharging his functions to the best of his abilities and to the satisfaction of the superior authorities. According to the petitioner, his past service record is clean and there are no adverse remarks communicated to him.

3. The petitioner submits that on 11-2-2018, the petitioner has posted a comment on social media i.e. Facebook. The text of the comment/post reads thus:

Xxx xxx xxx

which means, when unworthy persons get opportunity to speak in the House, they become philosophers and make wild allegations and this is called Democracy.

4. According to the petitioner, the post uploaded by him on social media is only for expression of his feelings and was limited for communication to his Facebook friends. It is contended that the comment was not intended to be directed against any political party or any other group. The comment was shared on social media, which was meant for a li