UPSC Cancels Provisional Candidature of Puja Khedkar for Rule Violations
Desk Report, July 31, 2024: In a significant development, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cancelled the provisional candidature of Puja Khedkar and permanently barred her from all future examinations and selections. This decision follows a detailed examination of available records, which found Ms. Khedkar guilty of violating the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 rules by exceeding the permissible number of attempts.
A Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued to Ms. Khedkar on 18 July 2024, after it was discovered that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit. The SCN required her to respond by 25 July 2024. However, Ms. Khedkar requested an extension, which was granted until 30 July 2024. Despite this extension, she failed to submit a response within the prescribed time.
The UPSC reviewed data from 2009 to 2023, covering more than 15,000 recommended candidates, and found that no other candidate, except Ms. Khedkar, had availed more attempts than allowed under the CSE rules. The commission’s detailed scrutiny revealed that the discrepancy went undetected initially due to Ms. Khedkar changing her name and her parents’ names.
To prevent such occurrences in the future, the UPSC is strengthening its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Regarding complaints about the submission of false certificates, particularly from OBC and PwBD categories, the UPSC clarified that it conducts only a preliminary scrutiny to verify if the certificates have been issued by the competent authority. The commission does not have the resources to check the veracity of the thousands of certificates submitted each year. However, the responsibility of scrutiny and verification rests with the authorities mandated to carry out this task.
This case highlights the UPSC’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of its examination process and ensuring a fair and transparent selection procedure for all candidates.
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