Allahabad High Court Directs CBI To Probe Into Recruitment For UP Assembly

The Allahabad High Court has raised doubts over the fairness of examinations conducted to recruit staff for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council and directed the CBI to conduct a probe.

Passing the order on Monday, a Lucknow bench of Justice A R Masoodi and Justice O P Shukla asked the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry to primarily find out as to whether there was any foul play in the recruitment process and submit its report by the first week of November.

The bench was hearing one special appeal and a writ petition which pertained to the challenge of the recruitment of staff in 2022-23 in the two legislative bodies.

The court was concerned as to why the recruitment agency was changed in 2019 before recruiting staff in 2022-23, when the UP Public Service Commission and UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission were already available or if they had refused to conduct the recruitment process.

The bench also held up certain original records pertaining to the said recruitment and asked its senior registrar to supply photocopy of the records to the CBI in order to facilitate it in the preliminary enquiry.

In the course of hearing, the bench found that there was serious doubt that the recruitment agency was chosen in a fair manner.

In its order, the bench observed, "On scrutiny of the company master data with respect to the agency chosen for recruitment, we came across some inexplicable details which, prima facie, satisfy the Court for a preliminary enquiry by an impartial agency as regard the identification of external agency in the present case. The function of recruitment in public service, in our firm view, cannot be compromised on the hallmark of fairness."

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