The Delhi High Court on Monday provided relief to former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar by putting a stay on her arrest till August 21 as it added UPSC as a respondent party to Khedkar’s plea seeking anticipatory bail and issued notice to the authorities.
Khedkar is accused of “misrepresenting and falsifying facts” in her UPSC application form to use persons with disabilities and OBC quota.
The authorities are expected to file their replies as it added UPSC as a respondent party to Khedkar’s plea seeking anticipatory bail and issued notice to the authorities, Indian Express reported.
Earlier on August 1, a Delhi Court had denied anticipatory bail to former probationer IAS officer Puja Khedkar. The Delhi court also asked investigation agency to find out whether an insider from the UPSC helped her. Khedkar moved the high court against this order by the Delhi court.
On Monday, the bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad asked respondent authorities why is her custody required when so far involvement of anybody else has not been found and the case primarily appears to be one of misrepresentation of facts.
Taking into account that UPSC has already suspended her candidature, Justice Prasad said, “She is not in the system to tamper with the system… Unfortunately, the trial court is bogged (down) by the offence and not why bail should not be granted.”
Also Read: UPSC files FIR against Puja Khedkar for alleged identity fraud, overstepping exam limits
Khedkar, 32, began her probationary training at the Pune Collectorate in June 2024. She is accused of misusing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons With Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quotas to pass the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) halted her ‘district training programme’ and recalled her to the academy from Washim, where she was continuing her training after being transferred from Pune.
The controversy began when Suhas Diwase, the Collector of Pune, submitted a report detailing Khedkar’s unsuitable demands for privileged treatment. Furthermore, her parents have been implicated by the police in an unrelated incident from June 2023.
Also Read: IAS Officer Puja Khedkar faces fresh woes: Mother’s firm sealed over tax dues
The UPSC stated that its investigation revealed Khedkar had violated rules by changing her name, her parents’ names, her photograph/signature, her email ID, mobile number and address to fraudulently increase her exam attempts.
“As a result, the UPSC has initiated several actions against her, including criminal prosecution by filing an FIR with the police and issuing a show cause notice for the cancellation of her candidature and debarment from future examinations/selections, in accordance with the Rules of the Civil Services Examination-2022,” according to the statement.
The UPSC also annulled Puja Khedkar’s candidature for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and barred her from future exams.