– Puja Khedkar’s provisional candidature for the Civil Services Examination 2022 has been cancelled and she has been permanently debarred from all future exams/selections by the UPSC.
– Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, was accused of misusing power and privileges and fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit by faking her identity.
– The UPSC found Khedkar guilty of violating CSE-2022 Rules after examining available records and noted that she changed not only her name, but also her parents’ names in the application.
– The Commission is in the process of strengthening its SOP to prevent such incidents in the future and cancelled Khedkar’s candidature after she failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time.