HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW WRIT - A No. - 14201 of 2025 Court No. - 2 HON'BLE MRS. SANGEETA CHANDRA, J. HON'BLE AMITABH KUMAR RAI, J. This writ petition has been filed with the following prayers :- i. Issue a Writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari thereby quashing the impugned judgment and order dated 04.11.2025 passed by the learned State Public Service Tribunal, Lucknow, in claim petition No. 1060 of 2024, contained in Annexure no.1 to this writ petition, as well as impugned punishment order dated 31.03.2015 passed by the Superintendent of Police Railways Agra, as contained in Annexure No.2, as well as the appellate order dated 08.09.2015 passed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Railways Allahabad, contained in Annexure No.3 to this writ petition, as well as the Revisional order dated 05.04.2024 passed by the State Government, contained in Annexure No.4 to this writ petition. ii. Issue a Writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus thereby, commanding the opp. parties not to take into consideration order of punishment dated 31.03.2015 passed by Superintendent of Police Railways Agra, as contained in Annexure No.2, for the purposes of service benefits. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner was appointed as a Constable in the Civil Police on 06.10.1994 and was initially posted at Police Station Jyotiba Phule Nagar and later in District Hamirpur. Since March 2011, he was posted in the Government Railway Police at G.R.P. Thana and was stationed at Tundla Junction. Subsequently, he was transferred to G.R.P. Station, Mathura. While being posted in 2014 under the Superintendent of Police, Railways, Agra, and discharging his duties Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Rajendra Prasad Shukla, Pallavi Dubey, Rajendra Kumar Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C., Shikhar Anand Dragpal Singh .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P. Thru. Its Prin. Secy. /Addl. Chief Secy. Deptt. Of Home U.P. Lko. And 3 Others .....Respondent(s) at Tundla Junction, the Station House Officer alleged that the petitioner used to consume liquor and did not discharge his duties properly. An inquiry was initiated by the Incharge, G.R.P. Thana, Agra. Later on another complaint was made by the Station House Officer, Tundla, and a preliminary inquiry was conducted by the Incharge, G.R.P. Sector, Agra and a report was submitted on 18.12.2014. The allegation against the petitioner was that while being posted as a Constable and deputed for night duty on 25.09.2014/26.09.2014 in the booking hall, instead of carrying out checking duties, the petitioner was found sleeping on a bench on the platform and had the checking register kept under his head. A photojournalist took a photograph and the same was published as a news item on 26.09.2014 in the local newspaper Kalp Taru Express with the heading "खाकी पर चîा अंगूर की बेटी का नशा". A show cause notice was issued to the petitioner on 14.03.2015 directing him to submit his reply within 15 days, as it was mentioned therein that the petitioner had lowered the image of the police in the eyes of the general public and caused disrepute to the department. The petitioner submitted his reply stating that the photograph was taken in the night of 24/25.09.2014 and not in the night of 25/26.09.2014. He further stated that in the night of 23.09.2014 he was asked to perform night duty, which he performed from 09:00 p.m. on 23.09.2014 till 09:00 a.m. on 24.09.2014. After completing his duty, he made his rawangi entry in Report No.17 in the morning and he intended to go to Agra to give his statement in a pending inquiry. While waiting for the train, because he had remained awake the previous night, he fell asleep. The register under his head was not the checking register but it was a copy in which he had some documents relating to the statement he was to give in the pending inquiry. His reply was not considered in accordance with law and a censure entry was arbitrarily awarded to him by the respondents. The petitioner filed an appeal against the punishment order dated 31.03.2015, which was rejected on 08.09.2015. He thereafter made a representation, which was also rejected on 05.04.2024, and against such orders, he filed Claim Petition No. 1060 of 2024, which has WRIA No. 14201 of 2025 2 been dismissed by the learned U.P. State Public Service Tribunal. Hence, this writ petition has been filed. We have gone through the order passed by the learned Tribunal, which considered the fact that the petitioner had raised such arguments in his reply and in the oral inquiry conducted in the matter, but the burden of proof lay upon the petitioner when he disputed the department's contention that the photograph was taken on the night of 25/26.09.2014. It was his case that the photograph was taken in the night of 24/25.09.2014 and therefore he had to prove his case. He could not prove his case; on the other hand, the departmental witnesses had all deposed against him. The statements of the departmental witnesses have been considered in detail by the learned Tribunal. The petitioner has not mentioned any procedural illegality in the departmental inquiry or issuance of the show cause notice. He has not pleaded non-grant of opportunity of hearing. Looking into the evidence, which has been considered in detail by the learned Tribunal, we find no ground to show interference in the impugned order dated 04.11.2025. Consequently, the writ petition stands dismissed. December 9, 2025 Ashish Dewal WRIA No. 14201 of 2025 3 (Amitabh Kumar Rai,J.) (Mrs. Sangeeta Chandra,J.) Digitally signed by :- ASHISH DEWAL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench