Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:24573-DB Court No. - 1 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 4642 of 2025 Petitioner :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Deptt. Of Home And Prison Administration And Reforms And Ors. Respondent :- Anil Kumar Sudhakar Counsel for Petitioner :- C.S.C. Counsel for Respondent :- Mohd Salim Siddiqui Hon'ble Attau Rahman Masoodi,J. Hon'ble Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I,J. We are not satisfied to interfere with the judgement/order rendered by the Tribunal in Claim Petition No.266 of 2021 on 08.11.2023 impugned herein. For the simple reason that the punishment imposed upon the delinquent officer was not prescribed under the Rules. However, taking note of the nature of charges imputed against the delinquent officer, we fail to understand as to how such an illegality was left unnoticed even by the appellate authority while dealing with the appeal, of which the disclosure in the Claim Petition was surreptitious. Allowing the officers having doubtful credibility with such a laxity is prejudicial to public interest and shakes the very foundation of public trust in the administration. Discovery of the alleged items from the jail premises ought not to have been dealt with in the manner in which the disciplinary authority has proceeded in the present case. Even the punishment imposed was found to be beyond what is prescribed in the Rules which the appellate authority also failed to notice while deciding the appeal. In the circumstances of the case we direct the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary Jail Administration & Reforms, Government of U.P. to take appropriate action against the disciplinary authority as well as the appellate authority after putting them to notice and by calling an explanation from them . We also leave it open for the State to proceed against the respondent from the stage of issuance of charge-sheet which the learned Tribunal ought to have left open. The judgement impugned herein is affirmed with the modification as above. With the aforesaid directions, the writ petition is disposed of. (Ajai Kumar Srivastava-I,J. ) (Attau Rahman Masoodi,J.) Order Date :- 29.4.2025 Shahnaz Digitally signed by :- SHAHNAZ BANO High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench