UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar's IAS selection; debars her from all future exams

NEW DELHI: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’s candidature in the 2022 Civil Services Examination (CSE). The commission has debarred her for taking the entrance exam for life after she was found guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times.

The UPSC issued Khedkar a show-cause notice on July 18 for "fraudulently exceeding the allowed number of attempts as per the Examination Rules by faking her identity." She was initially required to respond by July 25, but requested an extension until August 4. The UPSC then extended her deadline to 3:30 pm on July 30 to submit her response.

The commission made it clear that it was the "final opportunity" and "no further extension in time" would be allowed.

She was also informed that if she did not respond by the deadline, the UPSC would take action. The panel stated, "Despite being given additional time, she failed to provide her explanation within the specified period."

Data of 15,000 candidates since 2009 examined

In light of Khedkar's case, the UPSC reviewed the data for more than 15,000 candidates recommended for the civil service examinations from 2009 to 2023. They found no other instances of candidates exceeding the permissible attempt limit under the CSE rules.

“In the lone case of Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily due to the fact that she changed not only her name but also her parents’ name. The UPSC is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future,” the UPSC statement read.