WRIA/6772/2026 of SHRIOM GUPTA Vs THE STATE OF U.P. AND 4 OTHERS

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD WRIT - A No. - 6772 of 2026 Court No. - 33 HON'BLE DINESH PATHAK, J. 1. Petitioner is aggrieved by the show cause notice dated 11.03.2026, whereby he has been directed to furnish relevant medical documents and, simultaneously, he has been restrained from discharging his official duties. 2. It has been submitted that the petitioner was appointed on the post of Driver. Owing to a spinal cord ailment, the petitioner is unable to discharge his duties as a Driver.  Consequent thereto, he has been assigned light duty since July 2024.  However, all of a sudden, the impugned show cause notice dated 11.03.2026 has been issued to him requiring submission of medical reports/documents and restraining him from discharging his official duties.  It has been submitted that the latter part of the show cause notice, whereby the petitioner has been restrained from discharging his duties, is arbitrary and unsustainable in the eye of law. 3. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the contesting respondents No. 2 to 5 (UPSRTC) has contended that the spinal cord ailment of the petitioner is curable and that for the last one year and eight months, he has been placed for discharging light duties. Despite issuance of the show cause notice, petitioner has failed to furnish the relevant medical certificates and other documents to establish his medical condition prevents him from discharging his duties as a Driver; therefore, an observation has been made, in the impugned show cause notice, Versus Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Keshav Kumar Srivastava, Saurav Mishra Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C., Yashwant Singh Shriom Gupta .....Petitioner(s) The State Of U.P. And 4 Others .....Respondent(s) restraining the petitioner from discharging his duties until submission of the requisite medical certificate.  4. Having considered the rival submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties and perusal of record, it transpires that the petitioner has been served with the show cause notice requiring him to furnish the relevant medical documents indicating his present medical status/condition, inasmuch as he has been assigned light duties instead of discharging duties on the post of Driver for which he was originally appointed.  The petitioner has already submitted his reply dated 12.03.2026 (Annexure No. 7).  However, till date, according to the submission advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner, no final decision has been taken by the authority concerned in the aforesaid matter.  5. In my considered opinion, the authority concerned exceeded its jurisdiction in restraining the petitioner from discharging his duties pending submission of the medical reports. A show cause notice is intended only for inviting  an objection/reply from the noticee. However, any observation made by the authority concerned restraining an employee from discharging his duties, without passing a proper order in accordance with law, causes serious prejudice to the employee, which is not sustainable under the law. Therefore, the observation made by the Assistant Regional Manager (respondent No. 4) in the impugned show cause notice  restraining the petitioner from discharging his official duty, is unsustainable in law and deserves to be quashed.  6. As such, instant writ petition succeeds and is allowed in part .  The show cause notice dated 11.03.2026 issued by the respondent No. 4, insofar as it restrains the petitioner from discharging his official duty is hereby quashed. However, the authorities concerned shall be at liberty to proceed in the matter and take an appropriate decision in the light of the show cause notice and the reply submitted by the present petitioner to the said show cause notice, strictly in accordance with law, expeditiously.   May 6, 2026 vinay WRIA No. 6772 of 2026 2 (Dinesh Pathak,J.) Digitally signed by :- VINAY KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad