Puja Khedkar’s IAS candidature cancelled, UPSC debars her from all future exams

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the selection of trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar and permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections. The UPSC said in a statement that Khedkar was found “guilty of violating CSE-2022 Rules”.

"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," the Commission said in the statement.

She was a provisionally recommended candidate in the Civil Services Examination-2022 (CSE-2022).

Why has UPSC barred Puja Khedkar from future exams?

The UPSC alleged that Puja Khedkar not only changed her name but also her parents' name in the application, which is why the system couldn’t detect the malpractice.

In a press release on Wednesday, UPSC informed that a show cause notice (SCN) was issued to Puja Khedkar by the Commission for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity.

“She was to submit her response to the SCN by 25 July 2024. However, she requested for further time till 04th August 2024 so that she could gather the necessary documents for her response,” the press release added.

It added that the UPSC had also considered the request of Puja Khedkar and, in order to meet the ends of justice, granted her time till 3:30 pm on July 30, 2024, “so as to enable her to submit the response to the SCN.”

The release added, “It was also categorically made clear to Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar that it was the last and final opportunity for her and no further extension in time would be allowed.”

The Commission said that despite the extension, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time.

The Commission added, “UPSC is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future.”

The UPSC had earlier filed a police case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the civil services examination by faking her identity to take the exam beyond the permissible number of attempts.

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

Regarding OBC and PwBD certificates, UPSC clarified, “We do only preliminary scrutiny of the certificates viz. whether the certificate has been issued by the competent authority, the year to which the certificate pertains, issuing date of the certificate, whether there is any overwriting on the certificate, the format of the certificate etc."

“Generally, the certificate is taken as genuine if it has been issued by the competent authority. The UPSC neither has the mandate nor the wherewithal to check the veracity of thousands of certificates submitted by the candidates every year,” the UPSC added.