New Delhi, January 15: The Supreme Court has on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to Puja Khedkar, a former probationary IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, who is accused of submitting false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates.
She allegedly exploited these fraudulent documents to exceed the allowed number of attempts in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by using a fake identity.
In an order passed on January 10, the Supreme Court issued a notice on Khedkar's anticipatory bail plea and directed the Delhi Police and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to submit their responses by February 14. The bench, led by Justices B.V. Nagarathna and S.C. Sharma, also granted Khedkar protection from arrest in the interim.
Previously, the Delhi High Court had rejected Khedkar’s pre-arrest bail application and lifted the protection against arrest. In its ruling on December 15, 2024, the Delhi High Court stressed that there was a strong case against Khedkar and noted the necessity of custodial interrogation to fully investigate the matter.
Earlier, on November 28, 2024, the Delhi High Court had reserved its judgment on Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides. The court had also clarified that interim relief, which had been granted on August 12, would remain in place until the further order passed.
The court had previously rejected Khedkar's anticipatory bail plea, instructing the Delhi Police to investigate whether any UPSC insiders had assisted her in the fraudulent process. The investigation was also expanded to determine if other candidates had improperly benefited from quota schemes.
Puja Khedkar was dismissed from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) by the Centre on September 7, 2024, a month after the UPSC annulled her selection. The UPSC found that she had faked both her OBC and disability status to gain unfair advantages. As a result, she was also permanently banned from taking future UPSC exams.
