Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court today (May 21) granted anticipatory bail to ex-IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who has been accused of submitting fake OBC & PwD certificates in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination.

The bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing an anticipatory bail plea filed by Khedkar. In January, the Court had granted her interim protection from arrest.

Today, the court made the interim bail absolute. The bench passed the order, the relevant portion of which states :

" Having regard to the nature of offences registered against her and bearing in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, this is a fit case where the High Court ought to have granted the relief of anticipatory bail to the appellant herein.

"In the event of arrest the appellant be released on bail, furnishing cash sureties of Rs. 25,000/- with two live sureties. She shall extend complete cooperation in the ensuing investigation and shall not misuse her liberty and shall not in anyway influence the witnesses or tamper with the material on records. Should there be any violation of the aforesaid conditions, the liberty is reserved to the respondent to seek cancellation of anticipatory bail. With the aforesaid directions, criminal appeal is allowed."

The Court rejected the contention of the State Counsel that Khedkar, although appearing before the investigation authorities, is not cooperating with them and that the allegations against her were of a serious nature, meriting no relief. The Counsel stressed that by showing fake certificates, she had exceeded the number of attempts in giving the UPSC exam. Sr Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for Khedkar.

On March 18, the Court had extended her interim protection and also turned down Delhi Police's request for a custodial interrogation in order to investigate the "larger scam" of fake documents submitted by UPSC candidates.

In December 2024, the Delhi High Court dismissed the anticipatory bail plea filed by Khedkar. The Court observed that prima facie, Khedkar is not a fit candidate to avail the benefits meant for disadvantaged groups, and that she has been availing the benefit by forging documents.

It said that the steps taken by Khedkar were a part of a large conspiracy to manipulate the system and that the investigation will be affected if she is granted anticipatory bail.

Khedkar joined the Pune Collectorate as part of her probationary training in June. The allegation against her is that she “misused” quotas under Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons With Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) to clear the CSE.

An FIR was registered against Khedkar by the UPSC in the matter. A show cause notice was also issued to her on the cancellation of her selection. She has also been barred from future examinations.

As per a public statement given by UPSC, a detailed and thorough investigation into the “misdemeanour” of Khedkar revealed that she “fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit” under the Examination Rules by “faking her identity” by changing her name.

The statement also said that Khedkar changed the names of her father and mother as well as her photograph, signature, email address, mobile number and address.

Case Details : PUJA MANORAMA DILIP KHEDKAR vs. STATE OF NCT OF DELHI| SLP(Crl) No. 000357 - / 2025