The Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 15, 2025) extended the protection from arrest granted to Ms. Puja Khedkar, a former IAS probationer accused of cheating and unlawfully availing reservation benefits under the OBC and disability categories in the civil services examination. The interim protection, initially granted on January 15, has now been extended till April 21.
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A Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma took note of submissions by Ms. Khedkar’s counsel, who informed the court that her rejoinder to the reply filed by the Delhi government had been submitted but had not yet appeared on record. The Bench directed the apex court registry to verify the filing and listed the matter for hearing on April 21. The Bench also accepted the counsel’s plea to continue protection from arrest until the next hearing.
On a prior date, March 18, the court had orally observed that Ms. Khedkar could not avail separate attempts in the civil services examination both as an “able candidate” and a “disabled candidate”.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the Delhi government, argued that custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the network of middlemen allegedly involved in generating fake disability certificates for UPSC aspirants. In contrast, Advocate Bina Madhavan, appearing for Ms. Khedkar, stated that she had expressed willingness to cooperate with the investigation and had communicated this to the investigating agency.
The case against Ms. Khedkar stems from her alleged misrepresentation of information in her 2022 UPSC civil services application, wherein she availed of multiple reservation benefits. The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed her anticipatory bail plea, citing a strong prima facie case and emphasising the need for a deeper investigation to expose a “larger conspiracy”. The High Court warned that granting anticipatory bail at this stage could impede the ongoing probe.
The UPSC has taken disciplinary action against Ms. Khedkar, and a criminal case has been filed, with the Delhi Police registering an FIR citing various charges. Ms. Khedkar continues to deny all allegations against her, maintaining that the case is based on misinterpretation and misinformation.
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