UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar's provisional candidature, debars her from all future selections

New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday said it has cancelled the provisional candidature of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar after finding that she cheated the commission by availing attempts beyond the permisibile limit.  She is also debarred permanantly from all future examinations or selections, declared UPSC in a statement.

"The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules," the UPSC said in a statement.

The commission said a show cause notice (SCN) was issued to Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar on July 18 for "fraudulently" availing attempts beyond the permissible limit in the examination by "faking" her identity.

She was to submit her response to the SCN by July 25 but she requested for time till August 4 to gather the necessary documents for her response, it said.

The UPSC granted her a "final opportunity" to submit her response by 3:30 pm on July 30 but she "failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time", the commission said.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 1 its order on the anticipatory bail plea of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused in a case of cheating and forgery.Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on Wednesday reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed through her lawyer that she has an "imminent threat of arrest".

During the proceeding, the prosecution as well as the counsel appearing for the UPSC opposed the application, claiming she has "cheated the system".

"This person has abused the law and process of law. The chances of her abusing the law is still there. She is a resourceful person," the counsel appearing for the UPSC claimed before the court.