'Has she committed murder?' Supreme Court grants anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar in IAS fraud case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of cheating in the civil services process by wrongly claiming reservation benefits under the OBC and disability quotas.

A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said, "What is the grave crime she has committed? She is not a drug lord or a terrorist. She has not committed 302 (murder). She is not an NDPS offender. You should have a system or software. You complete the investigation. She has lost everything and will not get a job anywhere."

The Delhi Police and UPSC both had opposed her anticipatory bail, saying she had defrauded the commission and the public. The Delhi High Court also dismissed her anticipatory bail plea, removing her interim protection. The UPSC had canceled her candidature and debarred her from taking any future exams. Central government also formally discharged her from the Indian Administrative Service, citing Rule 12 of the IAS (Probation) Rules.

Khedkar came under public and legal scrutiny after her controversial posting in Pune, which was later changed to Washim by the Maharashtra government following allegations of power misuse. Her case took a serious turn when the state’s OBC welfare minister ordered an investigation into her claims of belonging to the OBC non-creamy layer.

She is accused of submitting false certificates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to pass the highly competitive civil services exams. Reports suggest she used multiple certificates showing different disabilities, including mental illness, low vision, and locomotor issues.

A major point of concern has been the use of different names during the application process—Khedkar Puja Deeliprao and Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar—which raised doubts about the number of attempts she made. She was also accused of using the name change to bypass the rule on maximum exam attempts.

Before her IAS selection, she was serving as an Indian Revenue Service officer and was posted with the Sports Authority of India. She had previously used the OBC and PwBD (low vision) categories for her IRS post, but later used PwBD (multiple disabilities) and a new OBC certificate to qualify for the IAS.