diff --git a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/catalog/ExternalCatalogUtils.scala b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/catalog/ExternalCatalogUtils.scala
index b20c62438986..eb649c4d4796 100644
--- a/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/catalog/ExternalCatalogUtils.scala
+++ b/sql/catalyst/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/catalyst/catalog/ExternalCatalogUtils.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ object ExternalCatalogUtils {
   }
 
   def needsEscaping(c: Char): Boolean = {
-    c >= 0 && c < charToEscape.size() && charToEscape.get(c)
+    c < charToEscape.size() && charToEscape.get(c)
   }
 
   def escapePathName(path: String): String = {