Puja Khedkar denies fraud charges, says UPSC has no power to disqualify her

Accused of cheating and fraud, former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar has rejected charges against her, and said that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has no power to act against her.

Cancelled her provisional candidature on July 31, the UPSC debarred Khedkar from all future examinations or selections.

Khedkar, who is also accused of wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits, filed her response before Delhi High Court on charges levelled by the UPSC, and argued that once selected and appointed as a probationer, the UPSC has no power to disqualify her candidature, reported India Today.

Amid accusations that she changed her name to appear for UPSC exams, exceeding prescribed limit, Khedkar claimed that she did not manipulate or misrepresent her name to UPSC.

"There has been no change in the applicant’s first name and surname, from 2012 to 2022, as consistently reflected in all DAFs," the reports quoted her response.

She also claimed that UPSC verified her identity through biometric data, as well as documents.

According to reports, till 2020-21, Puja Khedkar took the exam using the name – Puja Diliprao Khedkar. However, in 2021-22, after all the attempts, she reportedly gave two more attempts using the name ‘Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’.

The UPSC has registered a police case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing attempts in the civil services examination by faking her identity to take the exam beyond the permissible attempts.

In its reply filed in court, the UPSC said Khedkar’s custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the magnitude of the “fraud” that could not have been done without the help of other individuals.

Delhi High Court is set to hear the matter on August 29.

The Delhi Police has also registered an FIR under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act and Right of Persons with Disability Act.