HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD WRIT - A No. - 12162 of 2025 Court No. - 4 HON'BLE AJIT KUMAR, J. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned Standing Counsel. This Court while entertaining this petition on 23.08.2025 has passed following orders: "Heard Sri Ashok Khare, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Himanshu Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the State respondents. The submission advanced by learned Senior Advocate that penalty imposed by the disciplinary authority has come to be set aside in appeal by the appellate authority vide order dated 23rd February, 2022 making of course, said order as subject to the final outcome of the criminal case pending against him in connection with Case Crime No.- 53 of 2019 and 72 of 2019 under Sections 420, 406, 409, 120B of erstwhile Indian Penal Code but similarly placed employees who were indicated in same case have been granted promotion and hence according to learned Senior Advocate, respondent is not justified in refusing adhoc promotion to the petitioner by opening the seal cover. Prima facie, the submission advanced by learned Senior Advocate appears to have substance. Learned Standing Counsel shall obtain instructions in the matter by the next date fixed. Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Siddharth Khare, Sr. Advocate Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C. Khursheed Ahmed .....Petitioner(s) State Of U.P. And 3 Others .....Respondent(s) List on 17th September, 2025." Today learned Standing Counsel has placed instructions before this Court in which it has not come to be stated as to why the petitioner stands discriminated against as similarly placed three Panchayat Vikas Adhikari involved in the same criminal case were promoted way back in the year 2022. In the given facts and circumstances of the case, I find it to be a quite discriminatory and arbitrary exercise of power by respondent concerned in rejecting the claim of promotion set up by petitioner. In view of the above, I do not find any justification for rejecting the claim of the petitioner and hence the order dated 09.05.2025 cannot be justified by any cannon of law and justice. Writ petition thus succeeds and is allowed and the order impugned dated 09.05.2025 is hereby quashed. Respondent no. 2 is directed to immediately accord benefit of promotion to the petitioner on the post of Assistant Development Officer with all consequential benefits with effect from the date other persons namely Yogendra Singh, Bhagat Singh and Satyendra Singh were given promotion as Assistant Development Officer i.e. 03.01.2022. However, the promotion of the petitioner shall dependent upon final outcome of the pending criminal case. September 26, 2025 IrfanUddin WRIA No. 12162 of 2025 2 (Ajit Kumar,J.) Digitally signed by :- IRFAN UDDIN SIDDIKI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad