The government has ordered the immediate sacking of former trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, for misusing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil service exams. As per the official order, Khedkar was discharged under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954. This rule provides for discharge on the grounds of a probationer having been found to be ineligible to be recruited to the service.
Khedkar, till 2020-21, appeared for the exam under the OBC quota using the name ‘Puja Diliprao Khedkar’. In 2021-22, after exhausting all the attempts, she appeared for the exam under the OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) quotas – this time using the name ‘Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’. She managed to clear the exam with a rank of 821.
A single-member committee was constituted on July 11 to verify her candidacy claims, and a report was submitted on July 24.
Taking note of the findings and conclusions of the single-member committee report, the government proceeded with a summary enquiry according to the provisions of Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, including giving Khedkar a reasonable opportunity.
“It is seen that Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar applied and appeared for the CSE between 2012 to 2023. As per the information submitted by Puja in her Civil Services Examination (CSE) application forms between CSE-2012 and CSE-2023, it is seen that she had availed more attempts at the Civil Services Examination than the maximum permissible number of nine attempts in her claimed category (OBC and PwBD), which she had exhausted by attempting the Civil Services Examinations between 2012 and 2020 i.e., prior to the CSE-2022 itself,” the order said.
Rule 3 of CSE Rules 2022 prescribed the maximum number of attempts permissible to a candidate belonging to various categories. For an OBC and PwBD, it is nine attempts.
After holding a summary enquiry, it was seen that Khedkar was ineligible to be a candidate at the CSE-2022, which was the year of her selection and appointment to the IAS. Therefore, she was ineligible to be recruited to the IAS.
On July 31, the UPSC 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 acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE (Civil Services Exam) 2022 rules, including “faking her identity”.
The UPSC also initiated a criminal case against Khedkar for cheating, fraudulence and forgery. Following this, Khedkar approached the Delhi High Court challenging the UPSC’s decision to cancel her provisional candidature.
In her response before the court, Khedkar claimed that she did not manipulate or misrepresent her name to UPSC.
Khedkar, previously serving as a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, was transferred to Washim from Pune amid allegations that she misrepresented herself under the physical disabilities category.
She had also filed a harassment case against Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase, who reported her alleged misuse of power to the Maharashtra government.
