The UP Government on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging an Allahabad High Court order, which had directed the Government to reinstate “genuine” candidates out of the 22,000 sacked police constables who were allegedly recruited illegally during the earlier Mulayam Singh regime.

Acting on its appeal, a vacation Bench comprising Justices Markandeya Katju and Deepak Verma issued a notice to the sacked constables — Pawan Kumar Singh and others.

The High Court had passed the order on a petition filed by Singh and other sacked constables after taking a view that all the 22,000 constables could not be deemed to have been appointed illegally.

Listing the matter for further hearing in July, the apex court also permitted UP to move an application before the High Court, which had initiated

contempt proceedings against the state Government for not complying with its directions on the issue.

The Mayawati Government filed the appeal after the High Court in March this year directed the state to segregate the “genuine” appointees from among the sacked constables and reinstate them.

According to the UP Government, since the entire recruitment process conducted in 2005 by the then Mulayam Singh government was “vitiated”, it would not be appropriate to segregate the candidates for their reinstatement.