2024-09-09 16:37:30
New Delhi: The central government has removed controversial Pooja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect. Khedkar has been accused of committing fraud and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the service. She has denied all the allegations.
Which rule to use?
The Centre dismissed Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service with immediate effect under Rule 12 of the IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, through an order dated September 6, 2024. The rules allow the central government to dismiss probationers from service if they fail to pass the re-examination … or if the central government is satisfied that the probationer was unfit for recruitment into the service or is unfit to be a member of the service.
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UPSC had canceled the candidature
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had cancelled her candidature on July 31. Along with this, she was barred from future examinations. Khedkar was working as a trainee IAS officer in her cadre state Maharashtra. Earlier, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Delhi Police had opposed the anticipatory bail plea of former IAS probationer Pooja Khedkar, saying that she had cheated not only the commission but also the public as she was ineligible to appear in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2021 due to exhaustion of all attempts by 2020.
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Khedkar is on interim bail
Khedkar is currently on interim bail. Both UPSC and Delhi Police, in their respective replies, demanded the dismissal of the pre-arrest bail plea on this ground. The police said that giving him any relief would hamper the investigation. Also, this case will have a huge impact on the public’s trust as well as the integrity of the civil services examination. In July, UPSC cancelled the provisional candidature of Pooja Khedkar. She was accused of fraud and forgery. UPSC found Pooja Khedkar guilty of violating the rules. Along with this, she was barred from all future examinations and selections.
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What was the controversy?
34-year-old Pooja Khedekar had created a lot of buzz in the media after she was accused of demanding a separate chamber and official car in the office as well as unauthorized use of red beacon on her personal Audi car. Khedekar, initially posted in Pune, was transferred to Washim by the Pune District Collector amid the controversy. However, her troubles did not end there. The government later stopped her ‘district training programme’ and recalled her to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie for necessary action. The authenticity of Khedkar’s disability and OBC certificates was also under question. That too was being investigated.