In a major setback for former IAS officer Pooja Khedkar, the Patiala House Court has rejected her anticipatory bail plea. The court has directed the UPSC to investigate whether other candidates have also used fraudulent certificates to gain undue reservation benefits. Additionally, the court has instructed the Delhi Police to examine if anyone within the UPSC assisted Khedkar in her fraudulent activities.
"This person has abused the law and the process of law. The chances of her abusing the law is still there. She is a resourceful person," the counsel appearing for the UPSC had claimed before the court as quoted by news agency PTI.
On July 31, UPSC announced that it had cancelled the provisional candidature of probationary IAS officer Pooja Khedkar and barred her from all future examinations or selections. The UPSC stated that Khedkar was found guilty of contravening the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 rules. As a result, her candidature for the 2023 batch IAS under CSE-2022 has been revoked, and she has been permanently debarred from any future UPSC exams.
Falsifying identity
The commission revealed that Khedkar managed to bypass the permissible number of attempts by changing her name and her parents' names. This case marks a rare instance in the last 15 years where the UPSC's standard operating procedures failed to detect such an infraction.
Strengthening SOPs
The UPSC is currently working on strengthening its standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent similar cases in the future. A show-cause notice was issued to Khedkar on July 18 for fraudulently exceeding the attempt limit. Despite being granted extensions to respond, Khedkar failed to submit her explanation by the final deadline of July 30.
Police case registered
A police case has been registered against Khedkar for fraudulently availing attempts by faking her identity. The UPSC emphasized that this is an isolated case, and a thorough examination of over 15,000 candidates' records from the past 15 years confirmed no other similar violations.
Certificate verification
Addressing concerns about false certificates, the UPSC clarified that it only conducts a preliminary scrutiny of certificates submitted by candidates. The commission relies on the competence of issuing authorities for the genuineness of these documents.
UPSC examination process
The UPSC conducts the civil services exam annually in three stages—preliminary, main, and interview—to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.
Also read | Uttar Pradesh: Mob harasses woman in Lucknow, 4 arrested, 8 cops face disciplinary action
