The Union Public Service Commission is one of India's most respected public institutions, with a reputation for being infallible, honourable and incorruptible. Public Service is considered a highly noble profession; one that demands the brightest minds and strongest characters — reaffirmed by a highly competitive and rigorous selection examination.
As a Constitutional body that selects officers to govern the district, state and national administration of India, the UPSC is highly regarded for its perceived integrity, impartiality, non-partisanship and transparency.
However, due to several controversies and apparent lapses in the UPSC and the Civil Service Exam making the headlines this year, there has been a dent in this perception. Aspirants, experts, and critics alike decried these incidents as a blot on the Commission and cast aspersions on its conduct, as public trust in the UPSC began to fade.
Let’s take a look at some of these incidents:
The fallout of the forged certificates
When it was revealed that one Puja Khedkar, a trainee Indian Administrative Services officer from the 2022 cadre was revealed to have faked having a disability and her family’s income status to enter the Civil Services, a nasty can of worms was opened.
It all began when Khedkar, who was interestingly posted in her hometown of Pune for her training started demanding special privileges, such as her own cabin and an armed bodyguard, and occupied the office cabin of Pune Additional Collector Ajay More.
Following complaints, it was revealed that Khedkar appeared for the examination using a fake Other Backward Classes non-Creamy Layer certificate, as well as a false disability certificate. She also allegedly never turned up for her medical examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and appeared for the CSE 11 times – two attempts more than the allowed number for OBC candidates (9).
Soon after, more Civil Servants were revealed to have presented false disability or caste certificates, which begged the question – how did the Department of Personnel and Training and the UPSC allow such cases to fly under their radar, and how many more of such cases are yet to be unearthed?
Following these revelations, the UPSC introduced a candidate verification system based on Aadhar to prevent candidates from trying to appear for the exam fraudulently.
The curious case of Manoj Soni
Amidst the Pooja Khedkar controversy, Manoj Soni, who was the chairperson of the UPSC, submitted his resignation on July 20 this year – five years ahead of his retirement.
While he cited “personal reasons” as the reason in his resignation letter, his exit did not fail to garner controversy – probably as much as his appointment as the UPSC chairman did.
Soni, who joined the UPSC in 2017, and became its chairman in May 2023, was allegedly a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “inner circle”, as said by several news reports. Several Opposition leaders, like Indian National Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi and Rahul Gandhi, as well as the Trinamool Congress’ Jawahar Sircar, raised eyebrows at his “close ties” to the Bharatiya Janta Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
In 2002, when Soni was teaching at the Sardar Patel University, he organised a symposium titled “In Search of a Third Space: Godhra Riots and Its Aftermath” – which offered a supportive view of the Modi Government and a “critical view” of Muslims. Following this, Soni was appointed the Vice Chancellor of MS University in Vadodara by Chief Minister Modi in 2005.
However, many members of the UPSC remember Soni as a man of integrity and honesty reports The Print.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle flooding – The tragedy that struck Delhi’s coaching hubs
On July 27, three UPSC aspirants lost their lives after the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, a prominent coaching centre in New Delhi’s Old Rajender Nagar, was flooded due to rains.
The basement was allegedly being used as a library, in stark violation of safety norms.
Following this incident, there were protests and outrage from civil service aspirants as well as politicians, particularly from the BJP and Congress, who termed this tragedy as a result of negligence from the Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi.
The Delhi High Court, on August 5, transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which disclosed that the study circle had been operating without a valid fire safety certificate for nearly a year.
It was also revealed that these coaching centres operate in precarious conditions, and are often crowded beyond their capacity due to the demand for IAS coaching.
In addition, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi shut down 13 “illegal” coaching centres in the area, and Drishti IAS in Mukherjee Nagar – another coaching hub.
Eventually, several coaching centres moved their operations out of these areas and shifted to Noida, Uttar Pradesh amidst this row.
Lateral entry halted due to backlash
In August 2024, the UPSC issued a notice to recruit 45 joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries across 24 central ministries through lateral entry, particularly in fields of “emerging technologies” and “semiconductors & electronics”.
This sparked a huge debate, particularly with Opposition Parties, particularly the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who contended that the move undermined the principles of affirmative action for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and OBC candidates, and could potentially perpetuate existing inequalities.
Interestingly, even the BJP’s ally Lok Janshakti Party opposed the move.
Following this backlash, Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State (MoS) for the DoPT wrote to UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan, directing her to roll back the notification.
Doors to the Sangh Pariwaar open up to Civil Servants
The decision to lift the 58-year ban on civil servants participating in RSS activities, allegedly taken by the Central Government on July 9 has sparked significant controversy and backlash from Opposition parties.
This ban was imposed in 1964 to prevent civil servants from engaging in political activities and maintain the neutrality of the government.
In an open letter to the government, over 100 retired civil servants expressed their disapproval of the move, claiming that it allows civil servants to openly pledge their allegiance to an organisation that “stood against secularism and minority rights”, which goes against their constitutional duty.
“Literally millions of RSS members openly campaign for the BJP in every state and national election. How then can the integrity of the electoral process be assured when Chief Election Commissioners, Returning Officers and all others tasked with organising a fair election?”, the letter reads.
(Compiled by Karthikeya S)