UPSC cancels candidature of Puja Khedkar, debars her from future selections

Today, Wednesday, July 31, the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) said it has cancelled the provisional candidature of probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar and debarred her from all future exams or selections. This was stated in a report by PTI.

"The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules," the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said in a statement.

It said her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 (Civil Services Examination-2022) has been "cancelled" and she has also been "debarred permanently" from all future UPSC examinations or selections.

Furthermore, the commission said a show cause notice (SCN) was issued to Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar on July 18 for "fraudulently" availing attempts beyond the permissible limit in the examination by "faking" her identity.

Moreover, she was to submit her response to the SCN by July 25 but she requested time till August 4 to gather the necessary documents for her response, it said.

The UPSC granted her a "final opportunity" to submit her response by 3.30 pm on July 30 but she "failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time", the commission said.

It may be recalled, that the UPSC said it has also initiated a series of actions against her, including criminal prosecution, by filing a First Information Report (FIR) with the police authorities.

A show cause notice (SCN) has also been issued to cancel Khedkar's candidature for the Civil Services Examination 2022 and debarment from future examinations and selections, as per the Rules of Civil Services Examination 2022.

Furthermore, on July 16, Puja was relieved from the District Training Programme of the Government of Maharashtra.