Hon’ble Siddharth, J.—Heard Shri Prashant Kumar Tripathi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Sunil Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for the respondents.

2. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, praying for quashing of the Appellate Order dated 13.5.2016, passed by the respondent No. 3, General Manager (Operations) U.P. State Road Transport Corporation, Lucknow and Punishment Order dated 3.3.2005, passed by respondent No. 4, Regional Manager, U.P. State Road Transport Corporation, Agra Region, Agra. Further prayers for direction to the respondents to reinstate the petitioner in service with all consequential benefits and direction to the respondents to count the services of the petitioner from 4.1.2004 to the date of reinstatement for the purpose of Pay Scale and Post Retiral benefits and also for payment of arrears of salary of the petitioner from 4.1.2004 till the date of reinstatement has been sought.

3. The brief facts of the petition are that the petitioner was appointed as a Driver in the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Corporation” only). He was convicted in a Criminal Case under Section 302 I.P.C., and after dismissal of his appeal by this Court, he was jailed on 8.1.2004. The conviction of the petitioner was upheld by the Apex Court too by the order dated 20.8.2004 and even review petition preferred against the same was dismissed.

4. On account of the petitioner’s incarceration in jail, his services were terminated by the respondent No. 4 by the order dated 3.3.2005. The conviction of the petitioner was finally set aside by the Apex Court on 7.8.2015 in Special Leave Petition and the Judgments of the Trial Court as well as the High Court were set aside on the ground that at the time of commission of the alleged crime, the petitioner was a juvenile.

5. The petitioner filed an Appeal before the respondent No. 3 against the termination order dated 3.3.2005 on the ground that his conviction is set aside by the Apex Court by its Judgment dated 7.8.2015 and consequentially he was entitled to reinstatement as per the Judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Chairman, Food Corporation of India and others v. Sudarshan Das, (2007) 14 SCC 766, the Appellate Authority vide order dated 13.1.2016 dismissed the appeal of the petitioner on the ground that at the time of seeking appointment, he suppressed the facts about the pendency of criminal case against him. The petitioner approached this Court by way of Writ-A No. 6225 of 2016, challenging the appellate order dated 13.1.2016 which was allowed by the following observations,

“8. It is borne out from the record that the observation and finding in the appellae order that petitioner had suppressed the fact of criminal proceedings and his conviction, at the time of seeking appointment in the respondent Corporation, is wholly presumptive. It is not in dispute that such finding is based upon an inference drawn upon the fact that all employees, at the time of their entry into the service of Corporation, are required to fill an attestation form, which requires a declaration as to whether the employee is facing criminal proceedings or has been convicted. It is not in dispute that no such declaration of the petitioner is available on record of the respondents to draw such an inference. So far as the argument that such a declaration orm may have been got removed from the records, at the instance of the petitioner, as petitioner was its beneficiary, is again an argument advanced by the respondents without any material on record, nor any disciplinary proceedings have been drawn. No such finding could, thus, be returned. It is also not in disputethat all such issues were not raised before the disciplinary authority, and the order of termination had been passed merely on the ground of petitioner’s conviction, which stands set aside. The appellate authority was required to deal wih legality and propriety of the order passed by the di