Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:29715 Court No. - 5 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 18772 of 2022 Petitioner :- Jai Prakash Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Siddharth Khare,Sr. Advocate Counsel for Respondent :- Abhishek Srivastava,Adarsh Bhushan Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. Shri Aditendra Singh, learned counsel holding brief of Shri Siddharth Khare, learned counsel appear for the petitioner. Shri Abhishek Srivastava, learned counsel assisted by Ms. Kritika Sinha, learned counsel appear for the respondents No.2, 3 and 4. Shri Abhay Singh Tomar, learned counsel holding brief of Shri Adarsh Bhushan, learned counsel appears for the respondents No.5 and 6. The petitioner has assailed the order of termination dated 19.02.2022 passed by the respondent No.2/Chairman, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow and the order passed by the learned appellate authority/Board of Management of U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow dated 12.10.2022. Heard learned counsel for the parties. The following facts are established: 1. The enquiry officer did not intimate the date and time of the enquiry proceedings to the petitioner in advance. Further no oral evidence or departmental witnesses were introduced in the enquiry proceedings. The petitioner was hence never given an opportunity to cross examine the said witnesses. 2. In the facts and circumstances of this case, the oral evidence was necessary to establish the charges against the petitioner as per applicable standards of evidence. 3. The counter affidavit clearly discloses that the charge- sheet was duly approved by the competent authority. This fact could not be satisfactorily rebutted. 4. The enquiry proceedings are vitiated and hence the impugned order of termination is liable to be set aside. The order passed by the appellate authority fares no better, inasmuch as, it fails to redeem the illegality committed by the impugned order of termination. 5. In this wake, the impugned order of termination dated 19.02.2022 passed by the respondent No.2/Chairman, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow and the order passed by the learned appellate authority/Board of Management of U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow dated 12.10.2022 are liable to be set aside and are set aside. 6. The matter is remitted to the respondents authority with the following directions:- i) The petitioner shall be given list of departmental witnesses who are proposed to be examined and also provided with copies of adverse materials which are to be relied upon against him. ii) The Enquiry Officer shall set specific dates and time for the enquiry proceedings and intimate the same to the petitioner in advance thereof. iii) The department shall produce relevant departmental witnesses in the enquiry proceedings. The petitioner shall be given an opportunity to cross-examine the said witnesses. iv) The petitioner shall cooperate in the enquiry proceedings. v) The enquiry proceedings shall be concluded within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. 7. During the pendency of the enquiry proceedings, it shall be open to the respondents to suspend the petitioner immediately after reinstating him upon receipt of a copy of this order and thereafter proceed with the enquiry. 8. All other dues and entitlements of the petitioner shall be determined after the result of the enquiry proceedings. 9. The writ petition is partly allowed. Order Date :- 3.3.2025 Ashish Tripathi Digitally signed by :- ASHISH NAYAN TRIPATHI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad