UPSC bars woman aspirant for three years for using unfair means during govt job recruitment exam

NEW DELHI: A woman candidate has been barred for three years for using unfair means during a government job recruitment examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), officials said on Friday. It has also cancelled her candidature for the current year's examination, they said, without citing further details.

The UPSC had last year initiated a series of actions against former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, including lodging of a criminal case, for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking her identity. Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Class (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Giving details of the latest case, the UPSC said that recently, a candidate was found in possession of incriminating material in one of the recruitment examinations.

"As the candidate has violated the rules of the Examination and is found to be guilty under the rule of the examination - 12(1)(h) 'being in possession of or using unfair means during the examination'.

"Accordingly, UPSC has taken stringent disciplinary action in line with standardisation of penalties by cancelling the candidature for the current year’s examination and debarred the individual from appearing in all future examination(s)/selection(s) to be conducted by the Commission for a period of 3 years," the Commission said in a post on LinkedIn.

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Speaking about the action, UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar said, the Commission is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and fairness in its examination processes.

"Any candidate found guilty of indulging in unfair means or misconduct during examinations faces strict disciplinary action as per rules, including debarment from future examinations, as the strictest action," he said.

Such measures are essential to preserve the sanctity of the selection process and to ensure that merit remains the sole criterion for recruitment to the government services, Kumar said.

“This is the sole reason why UPSC for the last 100 years, has been an epitome of merit and fair system, and candidates from any background can get selected, purely on merit basis, as per the selection process," he added.