Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:42076 Court No. - 18 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 3113 of 2024 Petitioner :- Sanjeev Kumar Singh Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Deptt. Of Medical And Health U.P. Lko. And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- M.P. Raju Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Manish Mathur,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for petitioner and learned State Counsel appearing on behalf of opposite parties. 2. Petition has been filed challenging charge-sheet dated 23.02.2024 and for quashing of departmental proceedings initiated there under. 3. On 23.04.2025, the following order had been passed: "1. Heard. 2. The contention of learned counsel for the petitioner is that while the petitioner was working as Additional Chief Medical Officer an incident had taken place on 09.11.2022 wherein the petitioner is alleged to have fired from his licensed weapon which resulted into a first information report being lodged against the petitioner on 09.11.2022 vide F.I.R. No.1052 of 2022. Subsequent thereto, the petitioner has been issued the impugned charge sheet dated 23.02.2024, a copy of which is Annexure-1 to the petition, whereby two charges have been levelled against the petitioner of which first charge pertains to the same incident for which an F.I.R. was lodged, although the second charge pertains to the petitioner being unauthorizedly absent from duty. 3. Placing reliance on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of M. Paul Anthony vs. Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. and another -(1999) 3 SCC 679, the argument of learned counsel for the petitioner is that the Apex Court has categorically held in paragraph 22 of its judgment that if the departmental proceedings and the criminal case are based on identical and similar set of facts and the charge in the criminal case against the delinquent employee is of a grave nature which involves complicated questions of law and fact, it would be desirable to stay the departmental proceedings till the conclusion of the criminal case. 4. Placing reliance on the aforesaid judgment, the argument is that the first information report against the petitioner had been lodged under Sections 301 and 504 IPC which are grave charges and consequently the departmental proceedings as per charge sheet to the petitioner with regard to charge no.1 may not be permitted to proceed till such time the criminal case is decided. 5. Learned Standing Counsel prays for and is granted two weeks' time to seek instructions in the matter that keeping in view the law laid down by the Apex Court in the Apex Court in the case of M. Paul Anthony (supra) as to how a departmental inquiry can proceed against the petitioner. 6. List thereafter as fresh. " 4. Learned State counsel has been provided written instructions dated 28.05.2024 which are taken on record and in paragraph 10 thereof it has been indicated that since departmental proceedings and criminal case pertained to same set of allegations and evidence, the State Government by means of order dated 10.05.2024 has stayed proceedings with regard to charge no.1 till final decision of criminal proceedings. 5. In view of such an order having been passed by the State Government itself, there does not appear to be any occasion to quash the charge-sheet with regard to charge no.1. 6. The charge no.2 however pertains to petitioner being unauthorized the absent from duty,may be continued. Since no reply has been filed till date with regard to charge-sheet, petitioner is granted 15 days' time from today for filing response to the charge-sheet dated 23.02.2024 only pertaining to charge no.2. On receipt of such reply, the inquiry proceedings shall be concluded expeditiously, preferably within a period of two months from the date of submission of reply to the charge-sheet. 7. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the petition stands disposed of. Order Date :- 17.7.2025 Subodh/- Digitally signed by :- SUBODH KUMAR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench