A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of fraudulently clearing the Civil Services Examination held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
A day after the UPSC annulled Puja Khedkar’s candidature for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and barred her from future exams, the court has directed the Delhi Police to investigate potential misconduct related to her case.
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On Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala ordered a comprehensive probe to determine if any UPSC officials aided Khedkar.
“Hence the investigating agency (Delhi Police) is directed to conduct its investigation in all fairness to find out the candidates recommended in recent past (a) who have illegally availed the attempts beyond permissible limits; (b) who have obtained the OBC (non-creamy layer) benefit, despite not being entitled; (c) who had obtained the benefits of persons with benchmark disability, despite being not entitled and (d) the investigating agency shall also find out whether some insider from the complainant side has also helped the applicant to attain her illegal goals,” said Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala in the order.
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The court also ordered UPSC to gather information on other candidates who may have misused the OBC quota or benefits for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities.
The Delhi Police, which filed the case against Khedkar based on a UPSC complaint, argued that her custodial interrogation was necessary to address the serious allegations of integrity breaches, as Khedkar is accused of fraudulently manipulating her identity to gain additional attempts in the examination.
Khedkar, in response, claimed that the case against her was retaliatory, stemming from her previous sexual harassment complaint against the Pune collector.