New Delhi:
Former IAS Trainee officer Puja Khedkar, who made headlines last year over claims that she lied about disabilities, changed her surname and forged a backward class certificate to clear the civil services exam, has approached the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order denying her anticipatory bail.
In strong comments while turning down her petition in December, the High Court had said the charges against her, which include forgery and cheating, are a “classic example of fraud committed not only against an authority but also the nation at large”.
The court said her intentions seemed to be to dupe authorities and that “her steps (were) part of a larger conspiracy”. Ms Khedkar, it observed, is “unfit for appointment”.
“Conduct of the petitioner was purely driven with a motive to dupe the complainant UPSC, or the Union Public Service Commission, and all documents allegedly forged by her were done to reap benefits of schemes meant for (disadvantaged) groups of the society,” the bench said.
In her petition before the Supreme Court, Ms Khedkar called the high court order “erroneous”. A bench is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday.
UPSC has said that Ms Khedkar had attempted the civil services exam more than the six times permitted for a general category candidate by changing her and her parents’ names, making the violation harder to detect.
Before the High Court, Puja Khedkar used her claim of physical disability – she has a Maharashtra hospital certificate diagnosing her with an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability” – and said only attempts in the ‘divyang’ category should be counted.
She also claimed only her middle name had been altered. “UPSC verified my identity through biometric data… did not find my documents fake or incorrect,” she argued.
In July, the UPSC revoked Ms Khedkar’s selection as a junior government officer and barred her from appearing for the civil services exam in the future.
Two months later, the Union government sacked Ms Khedkar. The former IAS officer has denied all charges against her and claimed she is being targeted since she made a sexual harassment charge against her senior.
