PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 14 -- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to accelerate its probe into irregularities in the 2010 additional private secretary (APS) recruitment after the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) granted permission to investigate its officers allegedly involved in the case. The decision comes four-and-a-half years after the CBI first sought cooperation from the Commission. Notably, CBI director Praveen Sood wrote to the state chief secretary on May 26, warning that in the absence of concrete progress within 30 days, the agency might close investigations prematurely for lack of cooperation. The commission responded on June 25 by forwarding formal approval to the CBI. The commission had kept the approval confidential. The action emerged in a counter-affidavit filed in Allahabad high court on July 22, 2025, on behalf of several officers named in the probe. The affidavit records an office order dated June 25, 2025, that authorises an enquiry under section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against three officials, including the petitioner. Deputy Secretary Vinod Kumar Singh filed the counter affidavit; it lists respondents as the commission chairman, the secretary acting as enquiry officer, the deputy secretary (establishment), and the controller of examinations. Advocate Sanjay Kumar Om confirmed the filing of the document in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No 1571 of 2025. Prashant Pandey, media in-charge of the Pratiyogi Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti, demanded a named case against the accused persons, followed by arrests to expose all those allegedly involved in the corruption. The state government had recommended a CBI probe on September 4, 2018, after preliminary inquiries uncovered strong evidence of irregularities. On December 30, 2020, the CBI sought permission from the appointment department to investigate the then controller of examinations, IAS officer Prabhunath, plus three commission officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The appointment department cleared action against the then controller. The commission withheld permission to probe its officers; consequently, the FIR filed by the CBI on August 4, 2021, named only the then controller of examinations. The CBI repeatedly requested permission from the commission to advance the probe while seeking government intervention. The APS 2010 recruitment is among the commission's most contentious processes. Conducted for 250 posts, the exercise involved alleged rule changes in the Hindi stenographer examination that allowed some candidates to enter a third phase of testing. Computer certificates submitted for selected candidates included documents described as forged. Evaluation of Hindi stenographer answer sheets, along with the Hindi type test, reportedly lacked proper scrutiny; marks were altered in some instances to favour specific candidates. As a result, deserving candidates missed out on the merit list while ineligible persons gained selection....