The Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer who is accused of submitting fake documents to be eligible for the 2022 civil services exam.
An apex court bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma directed Khedkar to assist in working with authorities in the probe relating to the cheating case, news agency PTI reported.
Nonetheless, the lawyer for the Delhi Police strongly opposed the anticipatory bail to Khedkar, as she had not cooperated in the investigation, and said that the allegations against her were serious.
The Supreme Court asked what sort of serious crime Khedkar had committed.”She is not a drug lord or a terrorist. She has not committed 302 (murder). She is not a NDPS offender. You should have a system or a software. You complete the investigation. She has lost everything and will not get a job anywhere,” the bench observed orally.
Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the Supreme Court said that this is a suitable case in which the Delhi High Court “should have granted bail to the petitioner.”
Last month, the court directed Khedkar to appear before the Delhi police for questioning on May 2. The court had clearly stated that although she would not be arrested, if she does not cooperate or loses her temper against the investigation, “drastic measures” would be taken.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had in the last year cancelled the provisional candidature of Khedkar on the grounds of irregularities in her 2022 civil services exam application. Also, she was debarred permanently from appearing in any examination conducted by the UPSC. It’s worth noting that Puja Khedkar has denied all the allegations against her.
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