Under the scanner are several top police officers who, it is learnt, were a part of the recruitment process.

A Division Bench, comprising Justice Anjani Kumar and Justice Vijay Kumar Verma, directed the CBI and the Union government to investigate the matter as requested by the state government on February 4, 2008.

The HC order came after a petition filed by one Amit Kumar Shukla and three others, who were among the candidates for the exam held in 2005. The petitioners had challenged an order dated April 21, 2008, whereby the Centre had turned down a request made by the UP government for a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam.

The court observed that the CBI's refusal to probe the matter could not be sustained by law since recent findings have indicated that the entire recruitment process was faulty.

When the central government’s counsel questioned the authority of the petitioners to demand a CBI inquiry, the court observed: “The petitioners are unsuccessful candidates and there are complaints of malpractices adopted in the impugned selection... hence the locus standi of the petitioners could not be questioned."

The court also acknowledged a report submitted in June 2007 by a committee headed by Additional Director General of Police Sailja Kant Mishra. This report had mentioned clearly that the recruitment procedures had been tampered with.

Another high-level committee under the state chief secretary had recommended a CBI inquiry into the matter. The anti-corruption agency of the state had also submitted a report on April 16, 2006 to the state government, revealing glaring facts. It indicated that the requisite documents presented by applicants had also been forged.