New Delhi:

In a temporary relief, controversial former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar has received protection from arrest from the Supreme Court for allegedly lying about disabilities and using forged certificates to clear the civil services exam.

No coercive actions shall be taken against Ms Khedkar till February 14, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra said today and issued notices to the Delhi government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

The court will take up the matter again on February 14.

Delhi High Court had earlier denied her bail stating that the charges against her were a “classic example of fraud committed not only against an authority but also the nation at large”. Ms Khedkar approached the top court yesterday calling the high court order “erroneous”.

Read: “Erroneous”: Denied Bail, Ex-IAS Trainee Puja Khedkar Approaches Supreme Court

The former IAS probationer had made headlines last year for allegedly availing reservation benefits meant for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) categories to clear the UPSC exam.

The UPSC had alleged that she appeared for the UPSC exam more than six times permitted in the generation category by changing her and her parents’ names.

Denying the charges, she had claimed she was being targeted for levelling sexual harassment charges against her senior.

Read: Centre Dismisses Controversial Officer Puja Khedkar From IAS, Say Sources

Ms Khedkar, who has a Maharashtra hospital certificate stating she had an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability”, cited her physical disability claim before the high court and said only her attempts in the ‘divyang’ category should be counted.

She argued that the UPSC did not find any fake document after verifying her biometric data and said that she had only changed her middle name.

Taking action in July, the UPSC revoked her selection as a junior government officer and barred her from any further attempts in the civil services exams. She was sacked by the government two months later.

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.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court has quashed an order passed by the Pune police commissioner cancelling the arms licence of Manorama Khedkar, the mother of controversial former IAS officer Puja Khedkar.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan on November 27 remitted the matter for fresh consideration to the Pune commissioner noting that the earlier notice was not duly served on Manorama Khedkar.

Manorama Khedkar had moved the High Court challenging the Pune top cop’s order of cancelling her arms licence. She claimed she was not allowed to present her case.

The bench, in its order noted, that there was nothing to show that the notice issued to Manorama Khedkar directing her to show cause as to why her arms licence should not be cancelled was duly served to her as mandated in law.

“Hence, the impugned order cannot be sustained,” the HC said.

The case arose after a viral video showed her brandishing a gun during an argument over a land dispute in Dhadwali village. The video sparked public outrage, leading to her arrest on July 18 from Hirkaniwadi village in Raigad.

Manorama Khedkar along with her husband and five others were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon), 147 (rioting), and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as the Arms Act.

On July 23, the Pune Commissioner issued a notice for the cancellation of Khedkar’s arms licence citing the above FIR.

A hearing was scheduled for August 2, which she could not attend since she was in jail at the time. She was granted bail in August.

Manorama Khedkar could not have appeared before the police as she was in custody at the time, the bench noted in its order.

The court quashed the order cancelling Khedkar’s arms licence and sent the matter back to the Pune commissioner for a fresh decision.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Centre has discharged Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled her selection in one of the most sought-after branches of government service.

Ms Khedkar was found guilty of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits. After cancelling her selection, the UPSC had barred her from taking the entrance exam for life.

The UPSC found her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times.

Following the controversy, the UPSC had looked into the data of more than 15,000 candidates who cleared the IAS screening process between 2009 and 2023. “After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules,” the UPSC had said, referring to the Civil Services Examination Rules.

Ms Khedkar’s troubles began in June when Pune Collector Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, flagging the trainee IAS officer’s demands for perks such as a car, staff and an office that she was not entitled to during her two-year probation. Thereafter, Ms Khedkar was transferred to Washim.

Amid the row, her selection for IAS came under the spotlight. It was found that she had availed relaxed criteria for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities. It then came to light that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property to the tune of Rs 40 crore and she did not qualify for the OBC non-creamy layer tag.

It also emerged that she had not appeared for a mandatory health check-up at a government facility to confirm her exemption for disability.

A video of her sarpanch mother brandishing a gun to threaten people had also emerged. Manorama Khedkar was later arrested. Her father, Dilip Khedkar, is now being investigated in a case of owning assets disproportionate to his income.

New Delhi:

Former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar on Friday urged the Delhi High Court to disregard seven of her 12 acknowledged attempts to pass the uber-competitive Civil Services entrance exam.

Specifically, Ms Khedkar doubled down on physical disability claims – she has a Maharashtra hospital certificate diagnosing her with an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability” – and asked, therefore, that only attempts in the ‘divyang‘ category be counted.

She has claimed a 47 per cent disability as against the government’s 40 per cent benchmark.

The term ‘divyang‘ is the government’s term for persons with disabilities, although many have rejected the label, arguing it sets them apart from society and demanding, instead, focus on ensuring equal treatment and rights, as well as accessibility to public spaces and services.

In an affidavit filed with the court this morning she asked that her seven attempts as a general category student be disregarded. Should this be accepted, it will reduce the number of confirmed attempts to five (each of which she passed). This is four less than the upper limits for persons with disabilities, and one less than that allowed for general category candidates.

Puja Khedkar made headlines after claims she lied about physical and mental disabilities, and changed her name and surname, as well as forging an OBC certificate, to clear the exam.

READ | “Someone Doubted…”: Doctor On Trainee Officer’s Disability Claim

Ms Khedkar’s violations were exposed in June after it emerged she had secured perks beyond her pay grade, such as a siren and a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker for her private vehicle.

The Delhi High Court is hearing an anticipatory bail plea by Ms Khedkar, who faces criminal charges, including forgery and cheating. On August 1 a city court had rejected her plea.

READ | Former Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar’s Anticipatory Bail Plea Rejected

The lower court dismissed Ms Khedkar’s claims about “imminent threat of arrest”.

Days later she moved the High Court and the police, also asked to submit a fresh response to her plea – were told not to arrest her till a final verdict. That protection is in place till Thursday.

The police have sought dismissal of her plea on grounds that any relief will hinder its investigation into a “deep-rooted conspiracy”. The cops also argued that giving Ms Khedkar bail could damage public perception of the integrity of the civil services examination and the UPSC.

The UPSC, in turn, has told the Delhi High Court Ms Khedkar committed a “fraud”.

Meanwhile, Ms Khedkar has also rejected a claim by the UPSC – which is the government body that conducts the exam – that she changed her name and surname for one of the 12 attempts, in an attempt to circumvent rules limiting chances per candidate, depending on certain factors.

READ | “Changed Her Name…”: UPSC On How Puja Khedkar Cheated

She claimed only her middle name had been altered and argued “therefore, there is no truth in the allegation that there has been a major change in my name”. “UPSC verified my identity through biometric data… did not find my documents (to be) fake or incorrect…” she argued.

READ | Puja Khedkar Claims UPSC Doesn’t Have Power To Disqualify Her

She has also claimed the UPSC, which has revoked her selection – lacks the authority to do so since she had already been selected and appointed as a probationary officer. Only the union government, specifically the Department of Personnel and Training, can take action, she said.

Last month the UPSC said Ms Khedkar had changed her name, and that of her parents, to secure another crack at the exam. The central body said she had been served a notice for “fraudulently availing attempts, beyond permissible limit… by faking her identity”.

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New Delhi:

Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who has been accused of cheating and wrongly securing OBC (Other Backward Class) and disability quota benefits, has told the Delhi High Court that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) – which conducts the civil services exam – has no power to take disqualify her.

The UPSC last month cancelled Puja Khedkar’s candidature and debarred her from future exams. The Commission alleged that she misrepresented information in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022 to get reservation benefits.

“Once selected and appointed as a Probationary Officer, UPSC does not have the power to disqualify the candidature,” Puja Khedkar, who is seeking anticipatory bail in the criminal case against her, said in a response filed before the court on the UPSC’s charges against her.

She said that now only the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Central Government can take action against her.

Puja Khedkar On UPSC’s “Changed Her Name” Charge

The UPSC has claimed that Puja Khedkar attempted the uber-competitive qualifying test more than the six times permitted for a general category candidate. She did so by changing her name, and that of her parents, which is why the Commission said it could not detect the violation.

Puja Khedkar, however, refuted these allegations and said that there has been no change in her name or surname from 2012 to 2022. She also said that she had not given any wrong information about herself to the UPSC.

“UPSC verified my identity through biometric data. The Commission did not find my documents fake or incorrect. My educational certificate, Aadhaar card, date of birth, and other personal information were found to be absolutely correct,” she told the court.

“All the necessary verifications were also done by DoPT. As per DoPT, a medical board constituted by AIIMS conducted my medical examination. The board found my disability to be up to 47% and more than the 40% disability required for the PwBD (Person with Benchmark Disability) category,” she said in her reply.

Puja Khedkar’s “Fraud” Not Only Against Us But Public Too: UPSC

The UPSC, earlier this month, opposed in the Delhi High Court an anticipatory bail petition by Puja Khedkar, saying she committed “fraud” against the commission and the public. 

In its reply filed in court on August 21, the UPSC said Puja Khedkar’s custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the magnitude of the “fraud” that could not have been done without the help of other individuals. Therefore, her pre-arrest bail plea should be dismissed, it said.

“The gravity of the fraud committed is unprecedented in nature having been committed against not only a constitutional body — the complainant — whose traditions are untrammelled and unparalleled but also against the public at large, including the citizens of this country who have utmost faith upon the credibility of the UPSC as well as persons who could not be appointed despite being duly eligible and qualified due to illegal means employed by the applicant to seek appointment,” the UPSC said.

The Delhi Police has also sought dismissal of the pre-arrest bail plea on the ground that any relief to her would hinder its probe into the “deep-rooted conspiracy” and that the case has wider implications on public trust as well as the integrity of the civil services examination.

The Delhi High Court will today hear her petition.

Pune:

Police have registered a case against Dilip Khedkar, the father of former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, on charges of threatening and obstructing a public servant in the discharge of duty in Pune district, officials said on Friday.

The case was filed at the Bundgarden police station here on the basis of a complaint lodged by a tehsildar-rank officer from the Pune district collectorate, they said.

“The complaint says that during Puja Khedkar’s posting as an assistant collector, Dilip Khedkar allegedly used threatening language against tehsildar Dipak Akade, asking him to allot a cabin for his daughter even as he had no right to interfere in the administrative functioning,” an official said.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently cancelled the selection of Puja Khedkar and also permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections. She is currently untraceable after an FIR was registered against her in Delhi as she is accused of ‘misrepresenting information’ in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022.

The 2023 batch officer is accused of misusing power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled for, during her training at the Pune district collectorate.

“After receiving the complaint from the district administration, we registered a case against Dilip Khedkar under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” a senior official of the Pune police said.

The incident occurred in June this year.

Dilip Khedkar, a retired government official was also booked in a case of criminal intimidation filed by the Paud police in Pune, in which his wife Manorama was accused of toting a gun at a person in Mulshi area over a land dispute.

Dilip Khedkar was granted anticipatory bail in that case, while his wife Manorama, who was arrested by Pune rural police, was released on bail by the court recently. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who has been accused of cheating and wrongly securing OBC and disability quota benefits, on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the criminal case against her.

Her plea for pre-arrest bail is scheduled for hearing before Justice Subramonium Prasad on Friday.

Puja Khedkar allegedly misrepresented information in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022 to get reservation benefits.

On July 31, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled Puja Khedkar’s candidature and debarred her from future exams.

On August 1, a sessions court here had denied anticipatory bail to her and said there are serious allegations against her which “require a thorough investigation”.

Puja Khedkar, who has not been arrested in the case, had approached the sessions court, saying she faces “immediate threat of arrest”.

“Custodial interrogation of the accused is required to unearth the whole conspiracy and to establish involvement of the other persons involved in conspiracy,” the sessions court had said, adding that the case is “only the tip of the iceberg”.

The judge had directed the Delhi Police to conduct its investigation “in all fairness” to find out candidates recommended in the recent past who might have illegally availed of such benefits, and whether some insider from the UPSC also helped Puja Khedkar.

In response to Puja Khedkar’s claim of having been falsely implicated in the case and being a victim of media trial and witch-hunt, the sessions court had said the argument was not tenable because there were sufficient incriminating material on record.

“The conspiracy has been hatched in a pre-planned manner. The conspiracy was executed by the accused in many years. The accused alone could not have executed the conspiracy without the assistance of some outsider or insider,” it had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pune:

A Pune court on Friday granted bail to Manorama Khedkar, the mother of former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in a criminal intimidation case related to a land dispute.

Additional Sessions Judge AN Mare granted the bail, according to Manorama Khedkar’s counsel, advocate Nikhil Malani The judge ordered Manorama Khedkar’s release upon executing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one or more sureties of the same amount.

“The applicant shall not contact the informant and witnesses in the case by any mode of communication and shall not try to influence them in any manner,” stated the court order.

The order also specified that the applicant shall not enter the jurisdiction of Paud Police Station until the investigation is completed. She is required to cooperate with the investigating agency and report to the concerned police station as and when required by the investigating officer. For such purposes, she can enter the jurisdiction of the police station.

Additionally, the order stated that the applicant shall not leave the Pune district without informing the investigating officer and the jurisdictional magistrate until the investigation is completed.

The Delhi Court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a Trainee IAS officer and said the allegations against the accused are grave, and require thorough investigation.

Custodial interrogation of the 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 accused, said Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala.

The court noted that in the present case, the applicant/accused has been charged with the commission of an offence punishable under Section 420/468/471/120B IPC, 66D IT Act and 89/91 Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016. The applicant/accused has cheated the complainant by misrepresenting.

The complainant/UPSC to attain the misrepresentation, has prepared various documents to support her claim. The conspiracy has been hatched in a preplanned manner. The conspiracy was executed by the applicant/accused in many years.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The selection of Puja Khedkar as a trainee IAS officer has been cancelled and she has been barred for taking the entrance exam for life after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) found her guilty of faking her identity.

The UPSC has said in a statement that Ms Khedkar has been found guilty of violating rules of Civil Services Examination. “A Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 (CSE-2022) on 18th July, 2024 for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity,” the panel said.

It added that the 34-year-old was to submit her response to the notice by July 25, but she requested for time till August 4. The UPSC granted her time till July 30 and made it clear that it was the “final opportunity” and “no further extension in time” would be allowed.

She was also told that if no response is received by the deadline, UPSC would take action. “Despite extension in time allowed to her, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time,” the panel has said in the statement.

“The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the UPSC,” it said.