September 7th 2024.
In a recent turn of events, the central government has made the decision to discharge Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service. This comes after a long process, as the Union Public Service Commission had previously cancelled her selection over a month ago. According to official sources, the government has taken this step with immediate effect.
Khedkar, who was in the 2023 batch of trainee officers, has been accused of cheating and taking advantage of the Other Backward Classes and disability quota to secure her position in the government service. She has denied these allegations, but the central government has proceeded with the decision to discharge her. This was done through an order dated September 6, 2024, under Rule 12 of the IAS Rules from 1954.
It is important to note that a trainee officer is "discharged" from service, while a regular officer is "dismissed". Rule 12 of the IAS Rules allows for a probationer to be discharged if they are found to be ineligible for recruitment to the Service. This was the case with Khedkar, who was provisionally allotted the Indian Administrative Service based on her performance in the civil services examination of 2022. However, she has also been accused of misusing her power and privileges during her training in Pune.
Following a thorough investigation into these allegations, a criminal case was registered against her by the Delhi Police in July. This was due to her alleged misrepresentation and falsification of facts. As more reports emerged about her eligibility for previous exams, a single-member committee was formed to verify her claims. The committee submitted its report on July 24, 2024, which prompted the government to conduct a summary inquiry under Rule 12 of the IAS Rules.
During this inquiry, it was revealed that Khedkar had applied and appeared for the civil services examination between 2012 and 2023. However, it was found that she had availed more attempts than the maximum permissible limit of nine in her category. This was a clear violation of the rules, as she had already exhausted her attempts between 2012 and 2020, before the CSE-2022 in which she was selected.
Based on these findings, it was determined that Khedkar was ineligible to be a candidate for the IAS, and therefore, ineligible for recruitment. This led to the government's decision to discharge her from the Indian Administrative Service. In addition, the UPSC also cancelled her candidature and debarred her from future exams on July 31.
In a related development, Khedkar has recently expressed her willingness to undergo a medical examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. This was in response to the Delhi High Court's request, as the city police had claimed that one of her disability certificates may be forged and fabricated. The court is currently handling her anticipatory bail plea in the criminal case filed by the Delhi Police based on the UPSC's complaint.
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