NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday extended till March 17, granting an interim order of protection to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar, accused of forging her documents to obtain eligibility for the 2022 UPSC test.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma in its order said, "No coercive steps be taken against her (Puja Khedkar) till the next date of hearing on March 17. Let the interim protection be continued. List the matter for further hearing after three weeks."
The Supreme Court has directed the accused, Puja Khedkar, to cooperate with the investigation and scheduled the next hearing for March 18.
During the hearing on Friday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the Union government, requested more time to file a reply in the case. The apex court granted the request.
Earlier, on January 15, the Supreme Court provided major relief to Khedkar, a former IAS trainee officer accused of forging documents to qualify for the 2022 UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) examination.
The court had previously issued notices to the Delhi government and other concerned respondents, asking them to file their responses after considering Khedkar’s plea.
Khedkar approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea on December 23 last year. She is accused of misrepresenting information to secure reservation benefits in the competitive examination.
According to the prosecution, Khedkar allegedly misused the reservation system for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and persons with benchmark disabilities to clear the UPSC exam. However, she has denied the allegations and claims she is innocent.
In her appeal to the Supreme Court, Khedkar argued that the charges against her are based on documents already in the prosecution’s possession. "Hence, no further custodial interrogation is required. Her detention is unnecessary, as the evidence is primarily documentary," she said in her appeal.
The Delhi High Court, while rejecting her anticipatory bail plea in December, stated that the case was a "classic case of fraud with not only a constitutional body but the whole society and nation as a whole."
Khedkar called the High Court’s order erroneous.
Her legal troubles began in July last year when the UPSC canceled her candidature and barred her from future exams. The commission accused her of fraud, stating that her actions compromised the integrity of the civil services examination and affected public trust.
The case against Khedkar includes charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology (IT) Act, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
The FIR, filed by the Delhi Police, is based on allegations that she manipulated the system to gain unfair advantages in exam attempts and reservations. The UPSC filed a criminal complaint in July, insisting that her actions undermined the credibility of the examination process.
In her appeal, Khedkar stated that she belongs to the Vanjari community, which falls under the OBC category, and possesses an OBC certificate issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Pathravi, District Ahmednagar. She further explained that from 2012 to 2017, she took five attempts at the UPSC Civil Services Examination as an OBC candidate. However, after the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, came into effect, she became eligible to appear as a PwBD candidate and did so from 2018 onward.
She also alleged that while she was posted in Pune, she was sexually harassed by Suhas Divase, the District Collector of Pune. "That the Petitioner complained against the District Collector to the Chief Secretary. Meanwhile, Divase submitted a report to the Additional Chief Secretary regarding Petitioner's seating arrangements, use of a private vehicle, and recommended her transfer from Pune. This report was also circulated widely on social media, harming the goodwill of the petitioner," she said in her appeal.
