Sacked trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar got a temporary relief from the Supreme Court. The apex court on Wednesday ordered that no coercive action should be taken against her till February 14. A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma passed this order while issuing notice to the Delhi government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Khedkar’s plea seeking anticipatory bail.
Earlier, Delhi High Court had dismissed Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea and vacated the interim protection granted to her.
Khedkar was dismissed from service after she was found misrepresenting facts to secure reservation benefits to clear Civil Services Examination in 2022.
The Delhi Police recently registered an FIR against her on UPSC’s complaint for allegedly cheating and wrongfully claiming OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services exam as well as faking her identity to fraudulently exceed the permissible exam attempts.
The bench remarked that the case reflects fraud against both the organisation and society and stressed the need for interrogation to unravel the conspiracy.
The matter will come up for hearing on February 14.
