Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Pooja Khedkar has moved the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Delhi High Court in which her anticipatory bail plea was rejected. He is accused of passing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination by fraudulently taking advantage of the quota reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Disabilities (PwD).
In the petition filed in the Supreme Court, Khedkar said that the documents and application forms mentioned in the FIR lodged against him were already with the prosecution. Therefore, there is no need for his custodial interrogation. Khedkar also argued that she had no criminal record and was an unmarried disabled woman.
Khedkar said that he was appointed to the Indian Administrative Services after physical verification, which gives him protection under the All India Services Act and Rules. Furthermore, he claimed that he is also protected under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act until the allegations against him are proven.
UPSC canceled Khedkar’s selection process after allegations against him surfaced and permanently banned him from all future examinations and selection processes, finding him guilty of “violating the rules of CSE-2022”. Subsequently, Delhi Police registered a case against Khedkar on the complaint of UPSC. Khedkar had filed an anticipatory bail petition in the High Court to avoid arrest, which was given interim protection by the High Court on 12 August 2024, but the court canceled it on 23 December 2024.
