Former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has challenged the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) decision to cancel her candidature by filing a petition with the Delhi High Court on Monday. The petition was presented before a bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday. On July 31, the UPSC announced the cancellation of Khedkar’s provisional candidature via a press statement. The commission found her guilty of cheating and forgery, leading to her disqualification from future exams and selections.
The UPSC stated that it had carefully considered Khedkar’s request and granted her time until 3:30 pm on July 30, 2024, to submit a response to the show cause notice. Despite this extension, Khedkar failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time. The UPSC examined available records and found her guilty of violating the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 was canceled, and she was permanently debarred from all future UPSC examinations and selections.
Recently, the Delhi Patiala House Court dismissed Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea, stating that the allegations against her were serious and required thorough investigation. The court noted that Khedkar was charged with offenses under Sections 420/468/471/120B of the Indian Penal Code, 66D of the Information Technology Act, and 89/91 of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016.
The Delhi High Court, hearing Khedkar’s challenge to the UPSC decision, has directed the investigating agency to widen its scope of investigation. The court ordered the agency to investigate potential irregularities in recent UPSC exams, including:
* Candidates who illegally availed attempts beyond permissible limits
* Candidates who obtained OBC (non-creamy layer) benefits despite not being entitled
* Candidates who obtained benefits for persons with benchmark disabilities despite not being entitled
* Whether any insider from the UPSC side helped Khedkar achieve her alleged illegal goals
Khedkar recently applied for anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR lodged against her for allegedly faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts beyond the permissible limit in the civil services examination. The FIR was registered by the Delhi Police based on a complaint from the UPSC against Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar. (With inputs from ANI)
