22-05-2025
SC order validates my stance: Puja Khedkar after securing anticipatory bail
Pune: Dismissed IAS probationer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar on Wednesday said she felt "relieved" by the
Supreme Court
's order granting her
anticipatory bail
in the alleged forging of identity papers, misrepresenting and falsifying facts to obtain extra attempts in the Civil Services Exam-2022, beyond the prescribed limit.
"The SC order validates my stance," Khedkar told TOI. "The narrative established against me in the media was wrongly put out as negative, but I was certain that I will get justice," she said.
"From the very beginning, I had submitted multiple times before the courts right up to the SC that I am ready to cooperate with the investigation, and I did join the investigation at Crime Branch Delhi. I was present there for the investigation multiple times and submitted over 70 documents," Khedkar said.
Her father, Dilip Khedkar, said, "My daughter was questioned by the Delhi crime branch for seven days. It is our case that they could not find any issue with the documents she submitted. We still maintain that the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) complaint against Puja is legally inappropriate. It was done under political pressure and media trial."
On what lies ahead for his daughter, Dilip said, "She has already approached the Central Administrative Tribunal against the UPSC's decision to cancel her provisional candidature of the CSE-2022 and seeking reinstatement.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Ative sua licença do antivírus agora
Clique aqui
Undo
The matter is expected to come up for hearing before the tribunal by month-end. We are hopeful about getting justice at the tribunal too."
The case, which attracted nationwide attention, involves allegations that Puja falsely claimed disability and OBC certificates to secure her position in the civil services.
Right to information activist Vijay Kumbhar, who has been following the case closely, told TOI, "
Puja Khedkar
may have secured anticipatory bail from the SC but the real questions remain unanswered.
Bail – interim or otherwise – is part of the judicial process, and one cannot question it in isolation. But what can be questioned is the consistently evasive role of the system and its machinery in this and many similar cases."
Sources in the state revenue department said the anticipatory bail gives Puja temporary relief, but the larger case regarding her eligibility and the authenticity of her certificates remains under scrutiny, with multiple agencies still investigating aspects of the allegations.
Puja was initially posted at Pune collectorate before she was transferred to Washim after the controversy broke out and was eventually dismissed.
