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Puja Khedkar faced allegations of fraudulently utilizing reservations designated for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities to pass the UPSC exam. Senior Advocate Naresh Kaushik, representing the UPSC, condemned her actions arguing that such actions deprived legitimate candidates of employment opportunities and breached the integrity of the examination system.
IAS trainee Puja Khadkar, on Monday, approached the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of UPSC to revoke her candidature. Previously, she had approached the Trial Court seeking anticipatory bail for fraudulently exploiting the PwD and OBC quotas to exceed the permissible number of attempts for civil services exams.
Khedkar's plea is expected to be heard by the High Court on Wednesday, August 7 2024.
On July 31, the UPSC issued a statement annulling Khedkar's selection in the civil services and permanently barring her from all future exams and selections. The Police had registered a case against her based on a complaint filed by the UPSC. She was accused of exceeding the permissible attempt limit by falsifying her identity, including her name, her parents' names, her photograph, signature, email ID, mobile number, and address.
The UPSC declared that, after careful examination of available records, she was found guilty of violating the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules, resulting in the cancellation of her provisional candidature and permanent debarment from all future UPSC examinations and selections.
The trial court, in its previous order, rejected Puja's plea for anticipatory bail and directed the Police to expand its investigation to determine if others had similarly misused OBC and PwD quotas without eligibility and to investigate the potential involvement of UPSC officials in aiding Khedkar.
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