UPSC cancels candidature of trainee IAS Puja Khedkar, debarred from future exams

New Delhi, July 31: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of Puja Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 and permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections.

Earlier, on July 18, a show cause notice (SCN) was issued by the UPSC to Puja Khedkar for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity. She was to submit her response to the SCN by July 25. However, she requested further time till August 4 so that she could gather the necessary documents for her response.

The UPSC said it carefully considered the and she was granted time till July 30 to enable her to submit the response to the SCN. It was also categorically made clear to her that this was the final opportunity for her and no further extension in time would be allowed. It was also conveyed to her in unequivocal terms that if no response was received by the aforesaid date/time, the UPSC would take further action without entertaining any further reference from her. Despite an extension in time allowed to her, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time.

The UPSC says it examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all future Examinations of the UPSC.

In the backdrop of this case, the UPSC has thoroughly examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the CSEs from the year 2009 to 2023 concerning the number of attempts availed by them.

The UPSC says that barring the case of Puja Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules. The UPSC says that in the case of Puja Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents' name.

The UPSC says it is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future.

Meanwhile, Delhi's Patiala House Court on Wednesday reserved the order on an anticipatory bail plea moved by Puja Khedkar after an FIR was filed against her for allegedly "faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts beyond the permissible limit" in the civil services examination.

Khedkar through her anticipatory bail claimed her innocence and stated that she had been wrongly accused in the FIR and asserted that no prima facie offence can be identified against her upon reviewing the FIR.