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.

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 to take the exam multiple times. 

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,” it said.

It added that the 34-year-old was told 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.

The panel has said that in the wake of the Puja Khedkar episode, it had examined 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,” it said.

“In the lone case of Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily due to the fact that she changed not only her name but also her parents’ name. The UPSC is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future,” the statement added.

The UPSC clarified that it carries out “only a preliminary scrutiny of the certificates” of candidates. “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. However, it is understood that scrutiny and verification of genuineness of certificates is carried out by the authorities mandate with the task,” it added.

The Undoing Of Puja Khedkar

Puja 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 40 crores 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.

Amid the row, a video of her sarpanch mother brandishing a gun to threaten people 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:

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 1 its order on the anticipatory bail plea of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused in a case of cheating and forgery.

Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on Wednesday reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed through her lawyer that she has an “imminent threat of arrest”.

During the proceeding, the prosecution as well as the counsel appearing for the UPSC opposed the application, claiming she has “cheated the system”.

“This person has abused the law and process of law. The chances of her abusing the law is still there. She is a resourceful person,” the counsel appearing for the UPSC claimed before the court. 

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

Pune:

Pune court on Monday sent Manorama Khedkar, the mother of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, to 14 days of judicial custody in the case relating to threatening a farmer.

She allegedly threatened a person with a gun over a land dispute in June last year.

Manorama was arrested on Thursday for allegedly threatening a person with a gun over a land dispute in June last year.

Manorama was arrested from a lodge in Raigad district, where she was hiding, and produced before a judicial magistrate. The prosecution alleged that Manorama, along with her husband and three others, threatened the complainant with a gun and added Section 307, stating that she put a gun to the complainant’s head and was about to pull the trigger.

Earlier, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has sealed a company named ThermoVerita linked to Manorama Khedkar, mother of IAS Puja Khedkar located in Pune due to an alleged tax default of Rs 2.77 lakh.

This development comes amidst controversy surrounding probationary IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who had utilized the company’s address to obtain a disability certificate from YCM Hospital Pimpri Chinchwad.

“The property tax for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 for Thermoverita India Pvt. Ltd has been pending for the last two years. Additionally, the current year’s outstanding dues are also unpaid,” said Shekhar Singh, Commissioner of PCMC.

“As their dues remained unpaid in 2023, we initially issued notices and subsequently disconnected their water supply as a graded response. Since the dues have been outstanding for the last two years, our next step was to seal the property,” the Comissioner of PCMC added.

He added that the total outstanding amount for the last two years is Rs 1.96 lakh, and including the current year’s dues, the total comes to Rs 2.77 lakh.
 

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

Pune:

A sessions court has granted interim protection from arrest till July 25 to Dilip Khedkar, father of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in a case where he is accused of threatening a person with a gun over a land dispute.

Pune Rural police on Thursday arrested Manorama Khedkar, his wife and Puja’s mother, in the same case. Manorama was remanded in police custody till July 20.

Dilip Khedkar has moved the court seeking pre-arrest (‘anticipatory’) bail.

Judge A N Mare granted him “ad-interim protection from arrest” till July 25, the next date of hearing, said a lawyer representing him. If the police arrests him before that, he will have to be released on bail, the lawyer added.

A case has been registered at Paud police station against Dilip and Manorama Khedkar besides five others under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 147 (rioting) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under the Arms Act.

The First Information Report was registered after a viral video showed Manorama purportedly threatening some persons with a gun at Dhadwali village in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil. The incident had taken place in 2023.

Earlier in the day, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said it had lodged a criminal case against Puja Khedkar for faking her identity to fraudulently avail of attempts in the civil services examination beyond eligibility, and taken steps to debar her from future selections.

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

New Delhi:

Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, mired in controversy over alleged misuse of power, said today the law will take its course. In her first reaction on the matter, the 34-year-old said,  “Now the judiciary will take its course. Whatever questions there are, I will respond to them. I am coming back and and will give you the byte.”

The Union Public Service Commission has started the process that may lead to cancellation of the selection of the trainee officer, who is being investigated for lying about visual and mental disabilities. She has also allegedly faked her identity and changed the names of her parents to clear the Civil Services entrance exam.

The UPSC has sent a show-cause notice asking Ms Khedkar why her candidature should not be cancelled. Its action will depend on her reply.

The Delhi Police has filed a case that includes charges of forgery, under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and IT Act.

New Delhi:

The Maharashtra government has submitted its report on trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is in the eye of a storm over alleged misuse of power and claims that she made in her UPSC candidature, to the Centre.

The state government’s General Administration Department, headed by Additional Chief Secretary Nitin Garade, has submitted its report to the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) after a week-long probe. A copy of the report has also been sent to a one-member committee formed by the central government.

Manoj Dwivedi, the additional secretary in the DoPT, has been tasked to complete the investigation against her in two weeks.

The Maharashtra government’s report is a collection of documents obtained from various agencies to test the veracity of various claims made by Ms Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, before joining the civil services.

Questions have arisen over her claim of Other Backward Classes (OBC) status. She had also claimed several disabilities to avail of concessions in the UPSC selection process but refused to undergo mandatory medical tests to confirm those.

ALSO READ | Puja Khedkar’s Disability Document Has Factory Address, Ration Card Proof

It is alleged that she did not fall under the OBC non-creamy layer as her father Dilip Khedkar, a former civil servant, had assets worth Rs 40 crore.

The controversy began when she was seen using a siren on her private Audi and raising demands for a separate house and car – privileges not available to junior officers.

The Maharashtra government’s report also mentions her indecent behaviour at the Pune Collectorate where she was posted. The report also mentions that she had installed an amber beacon and the state government’s logo on the Audi she used to drive to work and that she had a dispute with a senior official over the use of the car.

ALSO READ | Puja Khedkar’s Mother Faces Attempt To Murder Charge Over Viral Gun Video

It also mentions the time she spent in Pune and that she claimed the cabin of Additional Collector Ajay More and used her personal car for official duties.

Puja Khedkar To Be Dismissed?

Puja Khedkar may be dismissed if she’s found guilty, sources said. She may also face criminal action if the allegations of hiding facts and misrepresentation are found to be true, sources added.

Ms Khedkar had ranked 841 in the all-India exam. In fact, the Union Public Service Commission that recruits top civil servants had challenged her selection, and a tribunal ruled against her in February 2023.

ALSO READ | Puja Khedkar’s Father Was Suspended Twice On Extortion Complaints

She has now been recalled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie and her training has been put on hold.

“You are hereby relieved from the District Training Programme of the State Government of Maharashtra,” said the General Administration Department of the Maharashtra government.

She has been instructed to “join the academy at the earliest” but not later than July 23.

The academy trains civil servants of the IAS cadre and also conducts the foundation course of Group-A central civil services.

Ms Khedkar had earlier been transferred to Washim from Pune (where she was originally posted) amid the serious allegations.