Puja Khedkar's candidature cancelled by UPSC, barred from future exams

The UPSC has cancelled the provisional candidature of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar after unearthing irregularities she committed in the run-up to the civil services exam of 2022.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has also barred her from appearing in any exam it conducts.

"The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of (civil service examination) rules,” it said.

UPSC acts tough

“Her provisional candidature … has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future examinations/selections of the UPSC," it said.

The probationary IAS officer, who got an all-India rank of 821 in the UPSC exams, has been accused of misusing her authority during her training.

She is also accused of faking her identity to illegally avail herself of attempts beyond the permissible limit in the civil services examination.

UPSC unearths wrongdoing

The UPSC said scrutiny of records of all aspirants from 2009 to 2023 showed that Khedkar alone took more attempts to clear the UPSC exam as she changed not only her name but also her parents’ name.

“The UPSC is in the process of further strengthening the SOP (standard operating procedure) to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future,” it said.

"From the investigation, it has been revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit … by faking her identity by changing her name, her father's and mother's names, her photograph and signature, her email ID, mobile number and address," the UPSC said in a statement.

Delhi Police file FIR

The Delhi Police had registered a FIR against her over a complaint filed by the UPSC.

Khedkar was earlier relieved from the District Training Programme of the Maharashtra government. Her training was put on hold.

Puja’s mother in trouble

Earlier this week, a Pune court remanded Khedkar's mother Manorama Khedkar to 14-day judicial custody in a criminal case linked to a land dispute.

The woman was arrested for allegedly threatening some persons with a gun over the dispute last year.