Delhi HC denies anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar in UPSC cheating case

New Delhi, December 23:

Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar was denied anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court on Monday on charges of fraud in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. It has been alleged that she exceeded the permissible number of attempts with a false identity. Integrity and fairness have once again come into question with regard to one of India’s most prestigious examinations.

A bench headed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh held the act of the dismissed officer part of a “large conspiracy to manipulate the system”. The court also noted such offenses were a blow to the credibility of UPSC, which was a constitutional body and it also tantamounted to breach of social trust.

This is an outright case of fraud, not only against the UPSC but against the society in general,” observed Justice Singh. The bench also drove home the point that issuing anticipatory bail would help scuttle the ongoing probe and also vitiate attempts to uncover the entire design of the conspiracy.

Puja Khedkar is a dismissed trainee officer from the Indian Administrative Services. She is accused of impersonating another person to receive more attempts at the super competitive UPSC examination, thereby circumventing the limits on the number of attempts allowed. Her actions evoked public outrage and generated considerable attention.

In that, the prosecution stated that the action of Puja Khedkar amounts to a deliberate act of deception, and there might be a network of individuals who assisted her in doing so. The investigation tries to identify the co-conspirators and determine the extent of the alleged malpractice.

Rejecting the plea for anticipatory bail, the court maintained that the charges against Puja Khedkar were serious and warranted a thorough investigation. The bench expressed concern that granting her pre-trial liberty could compromise the collection of evidence and embolden others to attempt similar fraudulent acts.

The integrity of competitive examinations is of paramount importance to the maintenance of public confidence in the system. Any attempt to compromise this integrity must be dealt with sternly,” the court noted.

The case has opened up a debate on the need for stringent measures to prevent fraud in competitive examinations. Experts have called for enhanced verification processes and penalties for those attempting to manipulate the system.

It is considered the epitome of meritocracy, as the UPSC examination is considered the gateway to India’s elite civil services. It is perceived as a challenge to the principles of equality and fairness that it espouses in case of any compromise to its sanctity.

As the investigation continues, a strong message against attempts to undermine the examination process can be seen in the decision of the court to not grant anticipatory bail while highlighting accountability and transparency in public service recruitment.