The Supreme Court has ruled that Puja Khedkar, a former IAS probationer accused of cheating and fraudulently using benefits of the Other Backward Class (OBC) and disability quotas in the civil services exam, cannot take separate attempts as both an ‘able’ and ‘disabled’ candidate.
A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma deferred the hearing of Khedkar’s plea to April 15 after her lawyer requested additional time to file a response to an affidavit submitted by the Delhi government. The Court also extended her protection from arrest until the same date.
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the Delhi government, argued that custodial interrogation of Khedkar was necessary to identify the middlemen involved in the alleged scam, which involved the fabrication of disability certificates for UPSC candidates. He claimed that Khedkar used a fake disability certificate to gain extra attempts in the exam, apart from her regular nine attempts.
Khedkar’s lawyer, Advocate Bina Madhavan, countered the allegations, asserting that Khedkar was willing to fully cooperate with the investigation. Justice Sharma remarked that if the authorities wanted to identify the middlemen, Khedkar was open to assisting in the probe. However, ASG Raju pressed for Khedkar’s custody, claiming that she would not reveal the middlemen’s identities without being taken into custody.
Raju also noted that Khedkar had been appearing for the UPSC exams since 2012 and obtained the fraudulent disability certificate to gain extra chances to clear the exam. Madhavan, however, argued that the disability certificate was legitimate, having been issued after Khedkar appeared before a medical board at AIIMS, and that no fraud was committed in obtaining the certificate.
The Court dismissed the idea of allowing Khedkar to take separate attempts as both an able-bodied and disabled candidate. “It cannot be the case that you can avail separate attempts as an able candidate and as a disabled candidate,” the bench stated.
The bench scheduled the next hearing for April 15, giving both sides time to present their arguments.
In related developments, an investigation into the properties owned by Khedkar’s parents has revealed several discrepancies. According to a letter from the Ahilyanagar district magistrate to the Inspector General of Registration in Pune, Khedkar’s mother, Manorama Khedkar, owns three properties with a combined value of Rs 48.90 lakh. Additionally, her father, Dilip Khedkar, is registered as the owner of nine properties, collectively worth Rs 1.56 crore. The reported market values of the properties suggest discrepancies in the purchase deeds.
