Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:47681 Court No. - 5 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 14635 of 2024 Petitioner :- Madhubhan Kumar Shrivastava Respondent :- State Of Up And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Kapil Dev Singh Rathore,Vikram Dev Singh Rathore Counsel for Respondent :- Abhishek Srivastava,Adarsh Bhushan,C.S.C.,Manoj Kumar Srivastava Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. Shri Kapil Dev Singh Rathore, learned counsel appears for the petitioner. Learned Standing Counsel appears for the State-respondent No. 1. Shri Abhishek Srivastava, learned counsel assisted by Ms. Kritika Sinha, learned counsel appears for the respondents No. 2, 3 and 4. Shri Ajay Patel, learned counsel holding brief of Shri Adarsh Bhushan, learned counsel appears for the respondents No.5. Shri Manoj Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel appears for the respondent No. 6 . The petitioner has assailed the order of dismissal dated 13.01.2023 passed by the respondent No.3/Chairman, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow and the order passed by the appellate authority/Board of Director, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow dated 06.05.2024. Heard learned counsel for the parties. The following facts are established: 1. The counter affidavit clearly discloses that the charge- sheet was duly approved by the competent authority. This fact could not be satisfactorily rebutted and no legal provision to the contrary was brought to the notice of the Court. The argument that the chargesheet was invalid is rejected. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. The enquiry proceedings are vitiated. The impugned order of dismissal which is based on the aforesaid enquiry report too stands vitiated. The appellate authority fails to redeem the illegality committed in the impugned order of dismissal. 5. In this wake, the impugned order of dismissal dated 13.01.2023 passed by the respondent No.3/Chairman, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow and the order passed by the appellate authority/Board of Director, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow dated 06.05.2024 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 :- 4.4.2025 Jaswant Digitally signed by :- JASWANT KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad