New Delhi

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday (Jul 31) cancelled the provisional candidature of controversial trainee IAS officer, Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, and permanently barred her from appearing in all future exams conducted by the commission. UPSC is a constitutional body in India that conducts direct recruitment of officers to the All India Services and the Central Civil Services. The decision was taken after glaring irregularities were found in her civil services exam 2022 application.

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Puja Khedkar had secured an all-India rank of 821 in the UPSC exams by faking her identity to avail attempts beyond the permissible limit. 

She is accused of misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam.

“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,” an official statement by UPSC read.

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Earlier, the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against her on the basis of the complaint filed by the UPSC.

Also read: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s training in Maharashtra put on hold, recalled to Mussoorie academy

"From the investigation, it has been revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the Examination Rules by faking her identity by way of changing her name, her father's and mother's names, her photograph/ signature, her email ID, mobile number and address," the UPSC had said in a press release.

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Puja got 'fake disability certificate'

Puja is also accused of obtaining a fake disability certificate from Pune's civic hospital in August 2022, despite the physiotherapy department at the hospital reporting no disability.

According to a report by India Today, while applying for the disability certificate, Puja had claimed a minor accident in 2018 had injured her left knee. However, according to the report, no MRI scan was conducted during her examination at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital.

Also read: `Puja suffers...`: Under fire IAS officer Puja Khedkar`s bureaucrat father comes to her rescue

She also used an address proof in her application that turned out to be fake. 

Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital's response

The YCM later conducted an internal investigation and found no irregularity in Puja's examination.

Rajendra Wable, dean of YCM Hospital, said, “The internal report confirmed that the certificate was issued after a comprehensive evaluation by our physiotherapy and orthopaedic departments, and all medical tests were conducted according to regulations. No misconduct was found.”

(With inputs from agencies)