Delhi High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Puja Khedkar, Former IAS Trainee Can Be Arrested For Alleged Forgery

On Monday (23 December), the Delhi High Court denied the anticipatory bail plea of former IAS probationer, Puja Khedkar. She is facing a criminal case for allegedly cheating and misusing OBC and disability quota benefits during her civil services examination.

"Anticipatory bail plea is dismissed. Interim protection from arrest is vacated," Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said while issuing an order on the plea and asserted that there was a solid preliminary case against Khedkar.

The judge stated that it was a quintessential instance of deception perpetrated against a constitutional entity and the community and further investigation was necessary to uncover the suspected conspiracy, The Hindu reported.

Accusations have been leveled against Khedkar for allegedly providing false information on her 2022 UPSC Civil Services Examination application in order to gain reservation benefits under the OBC non-creamy layer (NCL).

The legal representative for the Delhi Police and the complainant, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), stood against the request for anticipatory bail. Senior advocate Naresh Kaushik and lawyer Vardhman Kaushik represented the UPSC.

Pooja Khedkar, a trainee IAS officer who was transferred due to the misuse of a beacon and VIP plate on her private vehicle, is accused of submitting forged certificates. The Delhi Police suspect that Khedkar's disability certificate might be counterfeit.

The candidature of Puja Khedkar for the CSE 2022 has been cancelled by UPSC, and she has been barred from participating in all future examinations.

Under-fire IAS officer Puja Khedkar asserts that she will confront media scrutiny and the truth will ultimately emerge. Khedkar has refuted all the accusations leveled against her.

In July, the UPSC began a sequence of measures against Khedkar, which included filing a criminal case. This was due to her fraudulent representation of her identity to secure additional attempts in the civil services examination.

An FIR was filed by the Delhi Police, adhering to the regulations of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, and the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act.