IAS Officer Puja Khedkar: The offences of forgery and cheating as has been levelled against her is “fraud in its classic sense – not committed against an authority but the nation at large,” the court observed in the afternoon on Monday.
IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Anticipatory Bail
Delhi High court has rejected anticipatory bail to former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, involved in June and August controversy when she had claimed of having physical and mental disabilities and had forged her identity by changing her name and surname and forging an OBC certificate to qualify the exam.
The court held that, at face value, her intentions were to subpregnant the authorities and stated, “her actions, (were), therefore part of a greater plan. Ms Khedkar it was also realized is “unfit for appointment”.
“The conduct of the petitioner was purely motivated to defraud the complainant UPSC or the Union Public Service Commission and all the documents which the petitioner allegedly forged were done in other to benefit from the [of] the schemes intended for the disadvantaged groups within society,” the court was quoted to have ruled.
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The investigation made on the case, based on documents available in the record prima facie leads to the conclusion that the petitioner is not suitable for the dispensation of provisions for the benefit of socially and economically backward sections…
In a related note, the court noted raised a high probability that members of the bereaved family of Ms Puja Khedkar might have tailed unidentified influential individuals to procure the certificates amidst raising the possibility that government officials or agencies could have been involved.
The order was ordered by a single bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh; the same judge who had earlier restrained the police from arresting Ms Puja Khedkar overnight. That will probably not happen again ever As it will likely now stand cancelled.
On August 1 a city court had turned down this plea.
In her arguments, Ms Khedkar has reinforced her physical disability pleas – she submitted a Maharashtra hospital certificate to confirm she suffers an old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability – and thus she asked that only attempts in the ‘divyang’ category be considered.
She also acknowledged that her middle name had been changed and said thus; Therefore, there is and cannot be any truth in the allegation that there has been a major change in my name. Up SC verified my identity using finger prints… did not find my documents fake or wrong… she argued.
Puja Khedkar UPSC
Ms. Puja khedkar’s bail prayed had been opposed both by the Delhi Police as well as the UPSC Goa since they rejected the argument she said, it should be entertained as she has to fully cooperate and as the documents against her are adequate, her custody is not needed.
The police counterclaim was that Ms Khedkar was needed in police custody for interrogation and to investigate other people involved in the commission of the offence. The cops also said that assisting Ms Khedkar could hamper its investigation into the alleged ‘conspiracy’ in the case.
For its part, the UPSC claimed Ms Khedkar had defrauded the public, and that the police needed her custody to expose a fraud that would have required assistance from other persons.
She also said that it was only her middle name that had been changed and this she said c uld prove that ‘there is no element of truth in the allegations that there has been a change of name. Referencing my earlier experience when UPSC checked my biometric data…did not deem my documents as fake or otherwise wrong… she argued.
Ms Puja Khedkar’s bail plea were also opposed by both Delhi Police as well as UPSC for the reason that even as the defence argued that she be granted bail on a promise to fully cooperate, they added that since the evidence against her is documentary the custody of the accused is not required.
The police’ s rebuttal was that the need to detain Ms Khedkar was to conduct her interrogation and establish if there were other people involved in the commission of the offence. The cops also have said that assistance to Ms Khedkar might hamper its probe into the conspiracy behind the alleged crime.
Puja Khedkar News
The UPSC, at the same instance, pointed that Ms Khedkar herein lied to the public and therefore required to be detained by the police to uncover a fraud, which could only have been done with the assistance of other person/s.
In early September Ms Khedkar, an employee of the union government was dismissed from the services notwithstanding that she has denied the charges preferred against her and ever since she have reported her senior whom she accused of sexually harassing her, she has been victimized.
This was a month after the UPSC canceled her selection.
Ms Khedkar’s problems started in the middle of this year when Pune Collector Suhas Diwase have written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik about the number of comforts including a car, staff and an official bungalow that the trainee IAS officer was insisting on and which she was not legally entitled to since she had been posted for two years’ probation.
Later in service, Ms Khedkar was transferred to work in Washim.
Amid the row her selection for IAS was also made the point of discussion among people.
It was further seen that she had availed more liberal norms for the OBC candidates and the Persons with disabilities.
It then came to light that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property to the tune of ₹ 40 crore and she did not qualify for the OBC non-creamy layer tag.
It also came out that she had not gone for a check up at a government hospital in order to prove that she cannot be allowed to work out of disability.
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