JUDGMENT :

J.J. MUNIR, J.

1. Heard Mr. Manu Mishra, learned Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Manish Goyal, learned Additional Advocate General assisted by Ms. Akanksha Sharma, learned Standing Counsel on behalf of respondent No. 6 and Mr. Abhishek Srivastava, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 and 2.

2. The petitioner, Rakesh Kumar Sharma, was an Office Assistant in the employ of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. Long ago, he had entered service of the late Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board, now represented by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (for short, ‘the Corporation’) and the many other Distribution Corporations that have since come up as successors of the erstwhile Board. The petitioner was posted at the Electricity Distribution Division, Kasganj from 20.10.1994 to 31.08.2017, which falls under the administrative control of the Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Agra (for short ‘the Distribution Corporation’) represented by its Managing Director, besides the overall control of the Corporation.

3. A First Information Report was lodged against the petitioner on 11.04.2018 by one Satya Dev, an Executive Engineer with the Electri