Delhi HC asks Puja Khedkar to respond to UPSC plea seeking perjury proceedings against her

Delhi High Court orders response from former IAS officer accused of perjury by UPSC, granting three weeks for reply.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (September 12, 2024) told former probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar to respond to a plea by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) seeking initiation of perjury proceedings against her for allegedly giving false statement and affidavit in the court.

The UPSC claimed that Ms. Khedkar made a false statement that she had not been served with the order by which her candidature was cancelled and she came to know of it only through the press release issued by the commission.

The UPSC said the July 31 communication by which Ms. Khedkar’s candidature was cancelled was communicated to her on her registered email ID the same day. The commission said it was the same email ID which was registered in her online application for the Civil Service Programme (CSP) 2022.

The court granted Ms. Khedkar three weeks to file reply to the UPSC’s application and listed the matter for further hearing on November 26.

The commission sought an inquiry against Ms. Khedkar in accordance with law for committing the offence of perjury.

Ms. Khedkar had earlier approached the court challenging the UPSC’s press release stating that her candidature had been cancelled. The court had disposed of the petition after noting the UPSC’s submission that it would communicate its order cancelling her candidature.

Ms. Khedkar is accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits while applying for the civil services examinations. On July 31, the UPSC cancelled her candidature and debarred her from future exams.