The Supreme Court on Friday extended the duration of protection from the arrest provided to former trainee officer Pooja Khedkar of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) till March 17. He is accused of fraud in the Civil Services Examination and improperly avail reservation for other backward classes (OBCs) and disabled people. Justice B. A bench of V. Nagratna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma directed Khedkar to cooperate in the investigation. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.K. V. Raju had requested to give time to file a reply in the case. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Khedkar, said that the police is not calling him for investigation and he is ready to come. The apex court directed the ASG to file the reply within three weeks. On January 15, the apex court issued a notice to the Delhi Government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on the petition of Khedkar’s anticipatory bail. Khedkar is accused of giving incorrect information in his application of UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022 to get the benefit of reservation. He denied all the allegations against him.
Dismissing the anticipatory bail plea, the High Court found a prima facie a strong case against Khedkar and said that an inquiry needs to be investigated to find the “big conspiracy” to manipulate the system and giving relief will adversely affect the system. The High Court said, “The anticipatory bail petition is dismissed. The arrest is canceled interim protection. “Khedkar was given interim protection from arrest when the High Court issued a notice on his anticipatory bail plea on August 12, 2024 and was extended from time to time. The High Court said that UPSC exam is the most prestigious examination and this case is an excellent example of fraud with a constitutional body and society. In the High Court, Delhi Police’s lawyer and complainant UPSC opposed the anticipatory bail plea.
Khedkar’s lawyer argued that his client was ready to join and cooperate in the investigation and since all the material was of documentary nature, his custody was not required, while Delhi Police did not detect the involvement of other people in this case. For this, Khedkar was insisted on interrogating him in custody. The UPSC opposed the petition and said that Khedkar had cheated him and the common people and to find out the impact of fraud, it is necessary to interrogate them in custody, as it could not be done without the help of others. The Commission initiated several action against Khedkar, which included a criminal case on charges of appearing in the Civil Services Examination, stating that and the Delhi Police registered an FIR for various crimes.
