The Delhi High Court has extended interim protection from arrest for suspended trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar until August 29. This extension comes as Khedkar faces serious allegations related to falsifying and misrepresenting facts in her application to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The court's decision allows Khedkar to remain free while her anticipatory bail plea is under consideration.
Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi High Court deferred the hearing on Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea to August 29, as the Delhi Police has yet to file its reply on record.
The court had previously instructed the investigation agency not to arrest Khedkar, indicating that her immediate detention was not necessary at this stage.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Khedkar, sought additional time to review the UPSC’s response, which opposes the anticipatory bail plea. The High Court had earlier issued notices to both the Delhi Police and the UPSC, requesting their positions on Khedkar’s request for bail.
The allegations against Pooja Khedkar are serious. She is accused of falsifying her identity to gain extra attempts in the highly competitive civil services examination.
The UPSC has argued that Khedkar is the mastermind behind a broader conspiracy, suggesting that her actions could not have been carried out without assistance from others. The UPSC’s stance is that custodial interrogation is necessary to fully uncover the extent of the conspiracy.
The trial court previously denied Khedkar’s bail request, citing the need for her custodial interrogation to investigate the alleged conspiracy thoroughly. The court emphasised that the involvement of other individuals in the conspiracy needed to be established and that the gravity of the charges did not warrant the use of discretionary powers to grant anticipatory bail.
Khedkar faces charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to cheating and forgery, as well as sections of the Information Technology Act and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
The court has noted that Khedkar allegedly misrepresented herself to cheat the complainant, which in this case is the UPSC. It was also mentioned that the conspiracy was carefully planned and executed over several years, raising concerns about potential collusion with insiders.
The court further remarked on the need for the UPSC to introspect and strengthen its standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent such breaches in the future. The court pointed out that if Khedkar could circumvent the UPSC's scrutiny system, others might also have done so, suggesting that this case could be just the tip of the iceberg.
The UPSC was urged to review its recent recommendations and scrutinise candidates who may have illegally availed of extra attempts or benefits under the OBC non-creamy layer or persons with benchmark disabilities categories.
The investigating agency has also been directed to broaden its scope to identify other candidates who might have similarly manipulated the system. The agency has been tasked with determining whether any insiders from the UPSC aided Khedkar in her alleged wrongdoing.
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