UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar's candidature, debars her from all future exams, selections
UPSC found Puja Khedkar guilty of violating CSE-2022 Rules, permanently debarring her from all future exams, selections
By Newsmeter Network Published on 31 July 2024 10:54 AM GMTNew Delhi: Union Public Service Commission cancelled and debarred Puja Khedkar from all future examinations, selections as she was found guilty and violated the rules.
Puja Khedkar is accused of exploiting the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to gain eligibility for the civil services examination.
UPSC investigation
The UPSC's announcement follows a thorough investigation into Khedkar's qualifications and the context of her application.
According to an official UPSC statement, "After carefully reviewing the available records, UPSC found her guilty of violating the CSE-2022 Rules. Consequently, her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been revoked, and she has been permanently barred from all future UPSC Examinations and Selections."
UPSC panel had also revealed that a Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued to Puja Khedkar on July 18 for allegedly fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit set by examination rules by falsifying her identity.
Following the issuance of the notice, the deadline for Khedkar to respond was extended to July 30, with the UPSC making it clear that this would be the "final opportunity" and that "no further extension in time" would be granted.
No response from Khedkar
"Despite the extension in time allowed to her, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time," the panel stated.
Khedkar has also been booked by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for allegedly misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to qualify for the prestigious civil services examination.
To investigate the claims, a team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) was assigned to gather documents from various government departments.
Khedkar demanded perks
Puja Khedkar a 2023-batch IAS officer, was accused of misusing power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled to while serving on probation in Pune.
During a mock interview before she cracked UPSC, Khedkar was asked why her family income was shown as 'zero' when her father was a civil servant. In a video of the interview that went viral, she is heard saying that her parents were separated, and she was not in contact with him.
As per the rules, only those candidates whose parents' income is under Rs 8 lakh per annum can take benefit of the OBC non-creamy layer category.
15,000 candidates data checked
In the backdrop of the case of Puja Khedkar, UPSC has thoroughly examined available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the CSEs from the year 2009 to 2023 i.e. for 15 years with respect to the number of attempts availed by them.
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.