Allahabad HC Halts 4,543 UP Police Sub-Inspector Appointments Over Exam Objections

The Allahabad High Court has stayed the issuance of appointment letters for 4,543 posts under the Uttar Pradesh Police Sub-Inspector Recruitment 2025. The interim order will remain in force till the court hears the matter again on October 5.

The order was passed by a single bench of Justice Anees Kumar Gupta while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the recruitment process.

The petitioners include Shyam Sundar, Kamlesh Yadav and others, as well as Yash Pandey and 44 others. Senior advocate Ashok Khare, along with advocates Sanjay Kumar Yadav and Alok Mishra, appeared for the petitioners before the court.

The recruitment drive, covering Sub-Inspector posts in the Civil Police and equivalent posts, was advertised by the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board. The recruitment notification was issued on August 12, 2025.

The scale of the exercise was substantial. A total of 15,75,706 applications were received. The written examination was conducted on March 14 and 15, in two shifts each day, and around 10.77 lakh candidates appeared. The written examination result was declared on May 7.

According to the petitions, candidates had raised objections to changes made to certain questions in the examination. The petitioners alleged that their objections were not considered by the recruitment board, following which they approached the High Court.

The court's order stays only the issue of appointment letters at this stage. It does not cancel the recruitment process, nor does it set aside the examination or the results declared so far. Candidates who have cleared the process will not receive formal appointment letters until the court hears the matter further. The board retains the opportunity to place its position before the bench at the next hearing.

Disputes over answer keys and changes to questions are a recurring source of litigation in large public recruitment examinations. Courts are often asked to examine whether objections raised by candidates were dealt with in accordance with the procedure laid down in the recruitment rules. In such matters, the usual judicial inquiry is limited to whether the process was fair and followed the prescribed norms, rather than to the correctness of individual academic judgements.

Recruitment to police posts in Uttar Pradesh is a large-scale administrative exercise, and the preparation of merit lists and issue of appointment letters are among its final stages. A stay at this stage means the selection list stands, but formal appointments must wait for the court's further orders.

The matter will be taken up again on October 5, when the court is expected to hear the petitioners and the recruitment board in greater detail. What happens to the 4,543 posts — and to the candidates in line for them — will depend on that hearing and on any further directions the bench may pass.

(With inputs from Deepak Gambhir)