E-Paper
SC grants pre-arrest bail to ex-IAS trainee officer in UPSC fraud case
While disposing off Khedkar’s plea, the court also permitted Delhi police to seek cancellation of bail in the event she is found to tamper with evidence, influence witnesses or not cooperating with the probe.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar, accused of forging documents to obtain eligibility for the 2022 civil services examination exam.
“Having regard to the nature of offences registered against her and bearing in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, this is a fit case where the high court ought to have granted the relief of anticipatory bail to the appellant,” a bench led by justice BV Nagarathna said.
While disposing off Khedkar’s plea, the court also permitted Delhi police to seek cancellation of bail in the event she is found to tamper with evidence, influence witnesses or not cooperating with the probe.
“In the event of her arrest, the appellant shall be released on bail...She shall extend full cooperation in the investigation and shall not misuse her liberty. She shall not, in anyway, influence the witnesses or tamper with the materials on record,” the bench, also comprising justice SC Sharma, said. The court further required her to furnish cash sureties of ₹25,000 with two live sureties.
In December 2024, the Delhi high court refused to grant her anticipatory bail, forming a prima facie view that a larger conspiracy needs to be probed behind her attempt to dupe the UPSC.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Khedkar along with advocate Bina Madhavan, pointed out that pursuant to the order passed last month, she has been cooperating with the probe and had appeared before the officer concerned on May 2.
Khedkar was granted protection from arrest in February this year and this order was extended from time to time. Luthra urged the court to consider making the relief permanent subject to the conditions that the court may impose.
The police opposed the grant of pre-arrest bail ,pointing out that the investigation is still on and the charges against her are serious. However, the court balanced the apprehension of the state in its order, saying, “Should there be any violation of the aforesaid conditions, liberty is granted to the respondents to seek cancellation of anticipatory bail.”
As per the case against Khedkar, from 2012 to 2017, she appeared in the CSE using an OBC certificate issued to her by sub-divisional officer, Pathravi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. In 2018, when the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD) Act came into force, she became eligible to appear as PwBD candidate and appeared as such in the CSE since 2018.
According to the investigation conducted against her, while attempting CSE 2020, she had already exhausted all the nine permissible attempts available to PwBD + OBC candidates and was not eligible to appear in CSE 2021. However, she changed her name in 2021, and appeared in CSE 2021, 2022, and 2023 by making “incorrect or false statements” regarding the number of attempts already availed by her.
The UPSC issued her show cause notices in July last year for alleged suppression of information. This was followed by show cause notice issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension before UPSC cancelled her provisional candidature on July 31, 2024.
Khedkar, in her petition, said that the high court failed to appreciate that the charges against her pertain to cheating and fraud based on documentary evidence which is already in possession of the police, making it a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail. She claimed to be suffering from multiple disability of low vision, hearing impairment, and mental illness to be eligible under the disability category as well.
