The Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the services of a doctor for posting an “anti-government” comment on Facebook, PTI reported on Sunday. Dr Amit Kumar, the registrar of Government Medical College, Jammu, had defied a government order that bars its employees from posting anti-government content on social media.

On March 10, Health and Medical Education Minister Bali Bhagat said on Facebook that he had inaugurated a new lift at the hospital. Kumar commented on the minister’s Facebook post, saying it was not a new lift, The Indian Express reported.

In an order dated March 15, the college administration said it had removed the doctor as he had “used his personal social media account and commented with the intent of provoking readers”.

Kumar refuted the allegations and said that he had only pointed out that the minister had inaugurated an old lift. “I did not make any comment against the government, its policy or an individual,” he told The Indian Express.

Bhagat, however, said that Kumar has been terminated from registrarship, but will continue to be a medical officer. The doctor said the order has now blocked his chances of applying for a teaching job.

According to the statutory regulatory order, government employees are barred from using their personal social media account “in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that the government endorses or sanction their personal activities”.