The Lucknow special CBI court today issued summons to state Home Secretary Mahesh Gupta and three other officials to appear before it on December 9 in connection with the scam relating to the recruitment in the state’s Information Department dating back to 2000.

The CBI had filed the charge-sheet against the four on September 9, 2008, but Gupta’s lawyer Nandit Srivastava had objected to the move, arguing the government had refused to give sanction for Gupta’s prosecution.

However, CBI lawyer K P Singh said the agency did not require sanction for prosecution in cases of criminal conspiracy.

During the hearing today, Special Judge (CBI) Rekha Dixit summoned Gupta, the then information director, besides Raj

Gopal Singh Verma and Prabhat Kumar Sinha, who were also posted in the Information Department then. Another person, Akhilesh Chandra Shukla, has also been summoned.

The High Court had ordered the CBI to probe into the scam in 2003 following a petition alleging massive irregularities in the recruitment of the Group C employees in the Uttar Pradesh Information Department.