The Supreme Court has extended the protection from arrest to Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating in the 2022 UPSC exam, until March 17. She is also directed to cooperate with the investigation
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The Supreme Court on Friday extended protection from arrest until March 17 for former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of cheating and wrongly claiming benefits under the OBC and disability quota in the 2022 Civil Services Examination.
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As per PTI reports, a bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma directed Khedkar to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju sought time to file a response in the matter.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Khedkar, argued that the police had not summoned her for questioning and assured the court that she was willing to cooperate in the investigation. In response, the court directed the ASG to file a detailed reply within three weeks.
The case revolves around allegations that Khedkar misrepresented information on her UPSC civil services exam application in order to take advantage of reserved category benefits, namely those meant for OBC and persons with disabilities. Khedkar, however, has denied all the charges levelled against her.
In a previous ruling, the Delhi High Court had rejected Khedkar's plea for anticipatory bail, stating that there was a strong prima facie case against her and that a thorough investigation was required to uncover a "larger conspiracy" involving the manipulation of the examination system. The high court had also observed that granting anticipatory bail at this stage could undermine the investigation.
Despite this, Khedkar was granted interim protection from arrest when the Supreme Court took up her plea on January 15, 2024, issuing a notice to both the Delhi government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This protection has been extended multiple times since.
The high court had remarked that the UPSC exam was one of the country’s most prestigious tests and the case represented a serious fraud against both a constitutional body and society at large. The Delhi Police and UPSC had strongly opposed the anticipatory bail plea, emphasising the need for custodial interrogation to fully uncover the scale of the alleged fraud. The UPSC had argued that Khedkar’s actions constituted a betrayal of the examination system and public trust, and that her custodial interrogation was necessary to investigate how she might have benefitted from the alleged fraud, possibly with the help of others.
In response, Khedkar’s counsel maintained that all the material in the case was documentary in nature, which did not warrant custodial detention. The investigation is ongoing, with the Delhi Police having registered an FIR against Khedkar for allegedly committing fraud during her UPSC exam application.
According to PTI, Khedkar remains under scrutiny as the investigation unfolds, and the court's further orders are awaited.
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