The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has moved an application in the Delhi High Court seeking initiation of perjury proceedings against former probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar for allegedly lying in court and making false statements in affidavits filed in the court.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday heard the plea and issued notice to Khedkar and sought her response to the same. A bench of Justice Jyoti Singh directed Puja Khedkar file her response within three weeks. The high court has listed the matter for further hearing on November 26.
The UPSC has filed an application in the high court stating that it had sent the July 31 notice (cancelling Khedkar’s candidature) on her registered Email Id the same day.
According to UPSC, they had sent the mail on email adress mentioned in her online application for the Civil Service Program (CSP) 2022.
Khedkar had told the court that she has not been served with the order and she came to know of it only through the press release issued by the UPSC.
Senior advocate Naresh Kaushik, appearing for the UPSC, told the high court that Khedkar gave false information to her lawyers and she very well knew that she was making a false statement on oath.
The Delhi High Court is currently hearing Khedkar's anticipatory bail plea. The high court had earlier granted interim protection from arrest to Khedkar. Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination, 2022.
Both the UPSC and the Delhi Police have sought dismissal of her plea for pre-arrest bail and had argued that her arrest was essential to find others who might have aided her in the "fraud."
Khedkar on other hand has submitted in court that she has neither misrepresented nor cheated in the process of successfully clearing the Civil Services Examination-2022. She further told the high court that the UPSC has no power to disqualify her candidature.
She contends that her selection was on the basis of merit in the category of Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD), which she had attempted fifth time under the category whereas the available attempts are nine in the said category.
The attempts given prior to this from 2012 to 2017 was not under this category and cannot be mixed up to disentitle applicant as a disabled candidate, Khedkar submitted in court.
She further argued that after her selection and appointment as a probationer, the UPSC ceased the power to disqualify the candidature and only DOPT can take action against her under the All India services Act (1954) and the Probationer Rules.
She further refuted UPSC's claim and said that she verified her identity through biometric data collected during the personality test and all documents were also verified.
"There has been no change in the applicant's first name and surname, from 2012 to 2022, as consistently reflected in all DAFs (detailed application forms). The applicant has not manipulated or misrepresented her name to UPSC." her reply in the court said.
If further stated that after Khedkar was recommended to DOPT, all necessary verification was undertaken and she was medically examined by the Medical Board constituted by AIIMS as per DOPT which found her disability up to 47 per cent (which is way beyond the requirement of 40 per cent for PwBD category.)
On August 12, the High Court directed the Delhi Police to not arrest former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar till August 21, this stay was extended one more time.
Khedkar is accused of “misrepresenting and falsifying facts" in her UPSC application form to use PwD and OBC quota. Khedkar had moved high court after a Delhi Court denied her anticipatory bail.
The Delhi court also asked investigation agency to find out whether an insider from the UPSC helped her.
Accused of faking disabilty certificate and OBC certificate, Khedkar told the Delhi court that she is being targetted because she filed a sexual harassment case against a Collector.