New Delhi, 04 September: Delhi Police opposed the anticipatory bail plea of sacked trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar of Maharashtra, saying that she had submitted a fake disability certificate. The High Court will hear the matter on Thursday.
Delhi Police said in its status report filed in the High Court that it had submitted two different disability certificates in the Civil Services Examination given in 2022 and 2023. This disability certificate was allegedly issued by the Medical Authority of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. When Delhi Police verified these certificates, it was found that the authority of Ahmednagar refused to issue them. According to Delhi Police, Pooja had submitted this disability certificate to get concession in UPSC examination. Due to these concessions, Pooja Khedkar was successful in the examination.
The High Court has currently put an interim stay on the arrest of Pooja Khedkar. During the hearing on August 29, the lawyer appearing for Pooja Khedkar had said that UPSC cannot remove anyone once appointed. The right to remove lies with the Personnel Department of the Central Government. He had rejected the allegations that Pooja Khedkar ever made any change in her surname. Pooja Khedkar has not made any change or fraud in her name and surname from 2012 to 2022. There has never been any change in her date of birth, Aadhaar card and academic certificate.
Delhi Police has opposed Pooja Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea and said that there are serious allegations of fraud against Pooja Khedkar. Delhi Police has said that this case is related to the misuse of reserved categories in civil services. Due to this case, public trust has been greatly affected and it directly affects the fairness and integrity of the selection process along with the entire examination.
On August 21, the High Court extended the relief granted to Pooja Khedkar till August 29. On August 12, the High Court had put an interim stay on the arrest of Pooja Khedkar. Pooja Khedkar has challenged the Patiala House Court’s order rejecting the anticipatory bail plea in the High Court. The Patiala House Court had rejected Pooja Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea on August 1.
Pooja Khedkar was embroiled in controversies for making illegal demands during probation. Collector Suhas Divase had filed a complaint against Khedkar. After the controversy escalated, the Maharashtra government took action against Pooja Khedkar and stopped her training and Pooja Khedkar was removed from field posting and ordered to report to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, but she did not reach LBSNAA on time. On July 18, the police arrested Pooja Khedkar’s mother. A video of Puja Khedkar’s mother went viral on social media, in which she was seen threatening some farmers in Mulshi with a pistol to grab their land. The police have registered an FIR in this case.
It is noteworthy that Puja Khedkar has been dismissed by UPSC. Puja Khedkar had challenged the dismissal in the High Court and said that she was informed about it through a press release. After that, UPSC had asked to send a copy of the order of dismissal of Puja Khedkar to her email and address.
