UPSC and Delhi Police Challenge Bail of Ex-IAS Trainee Puja Khedkar Over Parents’ Fraudulent Divorce, Quota Misuse

New Delhi/Pune, 22nd August 2024: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Delhi Police on Wednesday strongly opposed the anticipatory bail plea of former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of defrauding the public by appearing for the 2021 Civil Services Examination (CSE) despite being ineligible. Khedkar, who allegedly misused OBC and disability quota benefits, had already exhausted all her attempts by 2020.

Currently, on interim bail, Khedkar’s plea was extended by the Delhi High Court, which scheduled the next hearing for August 29. Both the UPSC and Delhi Police have urged the court to reject her pre-arrest bail application, arguing that granting her bail could compromise the ongoing investigation into what they described as a “deep-rooted conspiracy.” They emphasized that the case holds significant implications for public trust and the integrity of the civil services examination.

The court has granted Khedkar time to respond to the arguments presented by the UPSC and Delhi Police.

The UPSC argued that custodial interrogation of Khedkar is essential to fully uncover the extent of the fraud, which they believe could not have been carried out without the involvement of others. The commission also highlighted that the fraud prevented eligible and qualified candidates from being appointed due to Khedkar’s illegal actions.

In its status report, the Delhi Police stated that Khedkar was not entitled to reservation benefits as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate and that she had provided false information about her family background and her previous attempts at the civil services examination. The report further alleged that Khedkar appeared for the UPSC exams multiple times under different names using forged documents, and that she misused the benchmark disability system to her advantage. The police also noted that Khedkar attempted to evade her medical tests at AIIMS by fleeing during the examination.

According to the police report, Khedkar had already used up all nine permissible attempts as a candidate with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) and OBC status by 2020, making her ineligible for the 2021 examination and subsequent exams. The police further claimed that Khedkar falsely declared her parents as divorced and underreported her mother’s income to qualify for OBC non-creamy layer benefits. Additionally, the report revealed that Khedkar’s family owns 12 vehicles, including luxury cars like a Mercedes and a BMW, as well as 23 immovable properties across Maharashtra, valued in crores of rupees.

The police warned that granting Khedkar anticipatory bail could hinder the investigation, allowing her and any accomplices to obstruct the verification of her qualifications and potentially tamper with evidence.