Recycling resume after rejection

A friend got rejected for finance analyst position 14 months back. HR is not giving any clarity around recycling. Referred to HM for a position. ..HM was interested in profile but then HR gave the usual bullshit about rejection 14 months back. Thoughts on who do I escalate this to. ...if nothing at least for clarity. At one point HR even said if A HM is interested ...interviews can b scheduled. I feel HR is totally unprofessional as saying different things to different ppl