UPSC cancels IAS trainee Puja Khedkar's provisional candidature, bars her from taking all future exams

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Jul 31, 2024, 3:41 PM IST

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cancelled the provisional candidature of Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a candidate recommended for the Civil Services Examination 2022 (CSE-2022). She has been permanently debarred from all future UPSC exams and selections.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of controversial IAS probationary officer Puja Khedkar and barred her permanently from appearing in all future exams conducted by the commission, officials said. Puja Khedkar is accused of misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam.

The announcement by UPSC comes after a detailed review of Puja Khedkar's eligibility and the circumstances surrounding her application.

"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," an official statement by UPSC read.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch allegedly booked Khedkar on July 19 for misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam.

A case under sections 420 (cheating), 464 (making a document in the name of a fictitious person), 465 (forgery) and 471 (passing off a forged document as genuine) of IPC and under sections 89 and 91 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and 66D of the Information Technology Act was registered against Khedkar.

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Khedkar, an IAS officer of the 2023 batch who worked as a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, was moved from Pune to Washim earlier this month due to claims that she had falsely claimed to have a physical disability.

She is accused of abusing her position of authority and privilege in Pune by requesting benefits and services to which she was not legally entitled. She is also charged with using the UPSC's OBC and non-creamy layer quotas. Her probationary time was suspended in response to the accusations made against her, and she was later invited back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.

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