Probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of deceit, sacked from IAS

The central government has discharged Puja Khedkar, former probationary civil servant, from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, official sources told news agency PTI on Saturday (September 7).

Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly enjoying Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the service. She has denied all allegations.

The central government, through an order dated September 6, discharged Khedkar from the IAS under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect, PTI reported citing unnamed sources.

What rule says

The rule allows the central government to discharge probationers from service if they fail “to pass the re-examination...” or “if the central government is satisfied that the probationer was ineligible for recruitment to the Service or is unsuitable for being a member of the Service”, among others.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had on July 31 cancelled Khedkar’s candidature and debarred her from future exams.

She was serving as a probationary IAS officer in her cadre state Maharashtra.

(With agency inputs)