The Supreme Court (SC) granted anticipatory relief to Puja Khedkar, an ex-Indian Administrative Services trainee officer who made headlines last year for allegedly lying about being disabled, changing her surname, and forging a backward class certificate in order to pass the difficult civil services exam.
The court ruled that if Khedkar was detained, she might be released with a financial bond of Rs 35,000.
In addition, the Supreme Court questioned a November 2024 Delhi High Court judgement that refused her bail, stating that Khedkar's acts were clearly intended to deceive.
However, in its verdict Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court rejected the investigation authorities' argument that Khedkar had not cooperated with them.
"What is the meaning of 'not cooperating'?" Justice BV Nagarathana asked, stating, "She has not committed a murder... this is not a NDPS (the anti-narcotics law) offence. She will cooperate."
Earlier, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the Delhi Police, argued against Khedkar's release, claiming that the cops needed to remain in custody to uncover the specifics of the “scam”.
"We have found this is a scam which may involve persons involved in giving certificates, etc. We want to investigate whether this is an isolated case or there is a larger number of cases," he said.
The court responded that, while the source from which Khedkar obtained falsified certificates needed to be revealed, she was not required to be held in detention.
