• Source:JND
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Puja Khedkar, the former IAS trainee officer, has challenged her disqualification, saying that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has no power to act against her. Responding to the Delhi High Court on the UPSC's charges against her, Khedkar argued that once selected as probationer, the UPSC ceases power to disqualify her candidature.

"DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) alone can take action under the All India services Act, 1954 and the Probationer Rules as per Rule 19 of the CSE 2022 Rules," Khedkar mentioned.

UPSC had cancelled Khedkar's provisional candidature and barred her from appearing in any future examinations or selections. The decision was taken after Khedkar was found guilty of misusing her powers and action in contravention of the provisions of the CSE (Civil Services Exam) 2022 rules, including "faking her identity".

Puja moved to the Delhi high court earlier this month after the direction by UPSC. Responding to the allegations that she faked her identity, Puja said that the UPSC had verified her biometric data before her appearance in the exam. It also said that all the documents had been verified by the commission during her "personality test" in 2022.

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Puja has been granted anticipatory bail. 

Recently, the UPSC said Khedkar's custodial interrogation was necessary to find the  magnitude of the “fraud” that could not have been done without the help of other individuals.

Puja Khedkar Case

34-year-old Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre batch of 2023 who obtained an All India Rank (AIR) of 841 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam, was found herself at the centre of a controversy after using her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate. She is also under the scanner for allegedly misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the IAS.

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Khedkar reportedly submitted a mental illness certificate. Earlier in April 2022, the IAS probationer was also asked to report to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate. Still, she did not do so, citing a COVID-19 infection.