UPSC Cancels Candidature of Controversial IAS Trainee Puja Khedkar Over Fake Certificate, Bars Her From All Future Exams

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cancelled the provisional candidature of Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar. She was provisionally recommended for the Civil Services Examination 2022 (CSE-2022). Additionally, the UPSC has permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections.

“The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her
provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the
UPSC,” the commission said in a notice.

On July 18, 2024, UPSC issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) to Khedkar, demanding an explanation for her actions. She was required to submit her response by July 25, 2024. However, Khedkar requested an extension until August 4, 2024, to gather necessary documents for her response. After careful consideration, UPSC granted her an extension until 3:30 PM on July 30, 2024, emphasising that no further extensions would be granted and warning her that failure to respond would result in further action.

Despite the extension, Khedkar failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time. Upon examining the available records, UPSC found her guilty of violating the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. 

In light of this case, UPSC has conducted a thorough review of the data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the Civil Services Examinations from 2009 to 2023 to verify the number of attempts availed by them. This comprehensive exercise revealed no other candidate exceeding the permitted number of attempts under the CSE Rules, except for Khedkar. Her deceitful actions went undetected primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names.

Also Read: ABP News Exclusive: ‘Basements Are Not Meant For Teaching,’ Says Avadh Ojha; Urges Stricter Laws After Delhi Coaching Tragedy

UPSC is now working on further strengthening its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent such incidents in the future.

Regarding complaints about the submission of false certificates, particularly in the OBC and PwBD categories, UPSC clarified that it only performs a preliminary scrutiny of certificates to ensure they are issued by competent authorities, are in the correct format, and contain no overwriting. The commission does not have the mandate or resources to verify the genuineness of thousands of certificates submitted each year. The responsibility for the detailed verification lies with the authorities mandated to carry out this task.