Supreme Court: The Division Bench of B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, JJ. while issuing notice on the anticipatory bail plea of former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, directed that no coercive steps be taken against her in the criminal case registered against her till the next date of hearing i.e., 14-02-2025.
Puja Khedkar was accused of ‘misrepresenting and falsifying facts’ in her application for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination, 2022, and also of availing reservation meant for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities to clear the Union Public Service Commission exam.
Background
Puja Khedkar was a recommended candidate in the Civil Services Examination (‘CSE’), 2022 and was allocated the Indian Administrative Services (‘IAS’) and got assigned to the Maharashtra Cadre. She indicated her name as ‘Khedkar Puja Deelip Rao’ for the first nine attempts. During the attempts, she posed herself as a member of OBC, except in CSE-2013 where she claimed herself to be a General category candidate. In 2018, Puja Khedkar claimed herself as a candidate belonging to the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (‘PwBD’) category in the sub-category of visual impairment, along with the OBC non-creamy layer. Pursuant to several complaints received by the Union Public Service Commission (‘UPSC’), the FIR was registered on 19-07-2024. As per allegations made by UPSC, despite exhausting all attempts available to her, Puja Khedkar appeared in CSE-2021 by circumventing the scrutiny relating to excess attempts made by her. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions (‘DoPT’) issued a show cause notice to Puja Khedkar asking for reasons as to why she should not be discharged from the services under the relevant rules of the IAS Probation Rules, 1954. On 31-07-2024, UPSC released a press note whereby the provisional candidature of Puja Khedkar to CSE-2022 was cancelled and she was permanently debarred from any future UPSC examinations.
Apprehending her arrest, Puja Khedkar approached the District and Sessions Judge, Patiala House to seek anticipatory bail but the same was dismissed vide order dated 08-08-2024. Aggrieved, she approached the Delhi High Court for the same. The High Court also declined her anticipatory bail.
Read here: Delhi High Court declines anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar
Source: Press
[Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar v. State (NCT of Delhi), SLP(Crl) No. 357/2025, decided on: 15-01-2025]
