The
Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) probationer Puja Khedkar, who is facing
allegations of fraudulently securing civil services eligibility by misusing
reservation quotas. The Bench, comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish
Chandra Sharma, observed that the nature of the offence did not warrant
custodial interrogation.
“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
Bench said orally.
The apex court, while directing Khedkar to cooperate
fully with the ongoing investigation, said this was a fit case where the Delhi
High Court “ought to have granted bail to the petitioner”. The High Court had
earlier denied her anticipatory bail and lifted the interim protection granted
to her.
The Delhi Police and the Union Public
Service Commission opposed her anticipatory bail, arguing that the
allegations were serious and involved defrauding the commission as well as the
public. They also alleged non-cooperation on Khedkar’s part during the
investigation.
Khedkar, who was previously serving in the Indian
Revenue Service and posted with the Sports Authority of India, is accused of
securing selection to the IAS by misusing the OBC and Persons with Benchmark
Disabilities (PwBD) categories. According to the investigation, she had used
multiple certificates citing different disabilities — ranging from mental
illness and low vision to locomotor impairment — across applications.
One of the contentious points in the case involves
Khedkar’s use of different names during the application process — Khedkar Puja
Deeliprao and Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar — raising suspicions about
manipulation of exam attempts. Authorities allege that the name changes were
used strategically to bypass the limit on the number of allowed attempts for
the exam.
News reports showed that she used varying
reservation claims: initially using the OBC and PwBD (low vision) categories
for her IRS post, and later presenting a fresh OBC certificate along with a new
PwBD (multiple disabilities) status to qualify for the IAS.