Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:40615 Court No. - 5 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 7491 of 2025 Petitioner :- Onkar Nath And Another Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Secondary Education Lko. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Priya Singh,Sharad Pathak Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Abdul Moin,J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri Ran Vijay Singh, learned Additional Chief Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents no. 1 to 4 and Sri Ajay Pratap Singh-II, Advocate who has filed an impleadment application on behalf of the respondent no. 5 which is taken on record. 2. With the consent of learned counsel appearing on behalf of the contesting parties, the instant writ petition is being finally decided at the admission stage. 3. Under challenge is the order dated 16.06.2025, a copy of which is annexure 1 passed by the respondent no. 4 i.e District Inspector of Schools, Sultanpur whereby the earlier promotion orders of the petitioners dated 08.05.2025 and 09.05.2025, copies of which are filed as annexures 13 & 14 respectively to the writ petition have been cancelled. 4. Admittedly, prior to passing of the said orders, no opportunity of hearing had been accorded to the petitioners which makes the orders impugned patently violative of the rules of principle of the natural justice. 5. Learned Standing counsel has tried to support the order impugned by indicating that the petitioners were not having any qualification so as to entail them to be promoted on the said post. It is also argued that it was specifically indicated in the promotion order that in case any fact comes to the knowledge of the competent authority, the promotion order is liable to be cancelled. 6. There cannot be any dispute to the aforesaid condition as stipulated in the promotion order. However, once the promotion of the petitioners was made and in case the respondents were of the view that the promotion has wrongly been made consequently, a minimal opportunity of hearing was required to be given to the petitioners so that the petitioners could atleast defend their promotion order but passing of the order in the manner which has been passed i.e cancelling the promotion orders without affording any opportunity of hearing make the impugned order patently violative of the rules of natural justice whereby vitiating the order impugned on this ground alone. 7. 7. Keeping in view the aforesaid discussion, the writ petition is allowed. The order impugned dated 16.06.2025, a copy of which is annexure 1 to the writ petition is quashed. 8. Consequences to follow. 9. However, it would be open for the respondents to pass a fresh order after affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. 10. The impleadment application stands disposed of. 11. At this stage, learned Standing counsel states that the petitioner, after issuance of the Show Cause Notice, may not co-operate in the same. 12. Needless to mention that in case the petitioners do not co-operate, it would always be open for the competent authority to pass an order even in absence of a reply being submitted by the petitioners. Order Date :- 16.7.2025 Pachhere/- Digitally signed by :- SATYENDRA SINGH PACHHERE High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench