The Allahabad High Court on 28 October 2026 partly restored Ashok Kumar’s promotion challenge for fresh consideration, preserving the existing officiating arrangement.
Judge / Bench — Shekhar B. Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, JJ.; judgment by Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, J.
Special Appeal 20/2026 (2026:AHC-LKO:77650-DB) requires verified qualification evidence. The promotion-committee direction remains intact; fresh disposal was requested preferably within two months.
Advocates appearing — Appellant: Gaurav Mehrotra, Senior Advocate, assisted by Abhineet Jaiswal and Saurabh Pandey; Harsh Vardhan Mehrotra (caption). Respondents 1–3: Sudip Kumar, Additional Advocate General, assisted by Anand Singh, Standing Counsel. Respondent 4: J.N. Mathur, Senior Advocate, assisted by Apoorva Tewari, Shobhit Mohan Shukla and Akriti Agarwal. Respondents (caption; allocation unstated): C.S.C. (not named), Aditya Kumar Tiwari, Anoop Kumar, Sangini Jha and Vijai Kumar Shukla.