ORDER

Hon’ble Mr. B. Anand, Member (A):

The brief factual matrix of the case is that the applicant, working as Junior Engineer in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), was facing a criminal prosecution by the DMRC which had filed an FIR u/s 420/102B/34 of IPC at the Police Station, Ghitorni Metro Station, Delhi. This FIR was filed on 03.01.2023 because of one Mr. Mohit Gupta, a co-accused, who was caught red handed with a number of DMRC smart cards which were being illegally re-charged and sold for personal gains, for which the said Mohit Gupta was arrested by the Police on 04.01.2023. While interrogating the said Mohit Gupta, it emerged that the applicant herein had stolen the TOM machine including its CPU, Card Reader and Cypto from the premises of DMRC and had installed the same at his residence in Greater Noida from where he had been misusing these and many other unaccounted illegally recharged smart cards, thereby resulting in a loss of Rs. 28 lakhs to DMRC, for which he was arrested along with the co-accused by Police on 04.01.2023. Thereafter, disciplinary proceedings were initiated and a charge memorandum dated 04.09.20