Puja Khedkar Case: Centre Sacks Former Trainee Officer From IAS With Immediate Effect

Controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar has been removed from the IAS job by the Centre with immediate effect. 34-year-old trainee IAS officer Khedkar from Maharashtra's Pune, was found guilty of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits. 

Khedkar is accused of giving wrong information about her personal information and disability to appear in the UPSC CSE-2022 exam. UPSC has declared her ineligible. These come a month after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled her selection in one of the most sought-after branches of government service.

Central government discharges Puja Khedkar from Indian Administrative Service with immediate effect: Official sources

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 7, 2024

Pooja Khedkar had also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court regarding this matter a few days ago. In her petition, Pooja Khedkar had appealed to the Delhi High Court to ignore 7 of her 12 attempts in the Civil Services Exam.

Khedkar claimed that she has a problem in her knee. Therefore, she should have been given opportunity in the 'Divyang' category only. She also argued that despite having 47% disability, she appeared in the exam in the general category. The benchmark of disability for the Civil Services Exam is 40%.