Centre discharges Puja Khedkar from Indian Administrative Service

The central government has discharged Puja Khedkar, former probationary civil servant, from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, official sources said on Saturday, 7 September.

Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the service. She has denied all allegations.

The central government, vide order dated 6 September 2024, discharged Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect, the sources said.

The rules allow the central government to discharge probationers from service if they fail "to pass the re-examination..." or "if the central government is satisfied that the probationer was ineligible for recruitment to the Service or is unsuitable for being a member of the service", among others.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had on 31 July cancelled her candidature and debarred her from future exams.

Khedkar was serving as a probationary IAS officer in her cadre state Maharashtra.

The Delhi Police told the high court that Khedkar submitted two disability certificates to show multiple disabilities and its probe has revealed that one of the documents may be "forged" and "fabricated".

The Delhi Police made the submission in response to the anticipatory bail plea of Khedkar, who has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits.

The agency said Khedkar submitted the two disability certificates for the civil services examinations-2022 and civil services examinations-2023 respectively.