UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar's provisional candidature, bars her from future exams
PTC News Desk: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled Puja Khedkar's provisional candidature after she was found guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times. The Commission also barred her from appearing in any future exams or selections.
Khedkar was found guilty of breaking Civil Services Examination regulations, according to a statement from the UPSC. "A Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 (CSE-2022) on 18th July 2024 for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity," UPSC stated.
It added that the 34-year-old was supposed to respond to the notification by July 25, but she requested an extension until August 4. The UPSC granted her time until July 30 and made it clear that it was the "final opportunity" and that "no further extension of time" would be
She was also informed that if no response is received by the deadline, UPSC will take action. "Despite extension in time allowed to her, she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time."
"The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the UPSC," the panel stated.
The panel stated that in the aftermath of the Puja Khedkar incident, it reviewed data from more than 15,000 candidates who passed the IAS screening procedure between 2009 and 2023. "After this detailed exercise, barring the case of Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules."
- PTC NEWS
