On 1st August, a Delhi court denied the request for anticipatory release submitted by Puja Khedkar, a former trainee IAS officer who has been charged with document fabrication and fraud in order to get selected for the Civil Service Examination. The development transpired one day after her candidacy was permanently revoked by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) amid intense controversy. Khedkar requested the anticipatory bail “to establish her innocence” and stated during the hearing that she was being singled out for the reason of reporting an officer for sexual harassment. The application was denied by the prosecution, who argued that she had “cheated the system” on multiple occasions.
The court ordered the investigating agencies to determine if an insider’s role enabled her to be appointed despite her phoney handicap and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates and the probe must be conducted fairly. “The investigation agency needs to widen the scope of the investigation. The agency is directed to find out the candidates recommended (by the UPSC) in the recent past who have availed benefits beyond permissible age limit under OBC quota and those who availed Persons with Benchmark Disabilities benefits despite not being entitled to it,” declared Patiala House Court’s additional sessions judge Devender Kumar Jangala.
The court added, “I am of the considered opinion that the allegations against the applicant/accused Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar are grave and serious which requires thorough investigation. Custodial interrogation of the applicant/accused is required to unearth the whole conspiracy and to establish the involvement of the other persons involved in the conspiracy. In the present facts and circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that it is not a fit case to exercise discretionary powers of anticipatory bail in favour of the applicant/accused.”
Devender Kumar Jangala remarked that Delhi Police “must also investigate if anyone from inside the UPSC helped Khedkar.” The court directed, “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.”
The court further ordered UPSC to gather information regarding candidates who illegally claimed the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities quota and about other candidates who received OBC quota advantages without being in the non-creamy layer. The Commission and the Delhi Police, who have opened a case against Khedkar based on a complaint from the UPSC, contended on 31st July that the trainee IAS officer had “breached the integrity of the system,” necessitating her detention for interrogation.
Puja Khedkar has been charged by UPSC for “fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit under the Examination Rules by faking her identity by way of changing her address, email address, mobile number, and father’s and mother’s names, as well as her photograph and signature.” The 34-year-old was selected as an IAS officer in the 2023 batch of the Maharashtra cadre.
The UPSC had lodged a case with the Delhi police alleging that Puja manufactured false statements, produced counterfeit identification to appear for the civil services test more than she was eligible to, and altered the names and identities of her parents, Manorama and Dilip Khedkar. Puja Khedkar became embroiled in a controversy after her conversations with an official came to light, during which she repeatedly insisted on having a separate office cabin, a car, and good accommodations even though she was not qualified for any of these while she was on probation.
Atul Srivastava, the public prosecutor, stated that the matter is “at a very nascent stage” and that further investigation into it is necessary, thus she must be questioned while in custody. “These kinds of persons who cheat the system must be dealt with very seriously. This person has abused the process of law,” he submitted and added that there was still a possibility that she would continue to abuse the law.
