NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Wednesday protected from arrest till Feb 14 former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in civil services examination.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice to Delhi govt and UPSC on Khedkar’s plea seeking anticipatory bail.
“Issue notice returnable on Feb 14, 2025. Till next date of hearing, no coercive steps to be taken against petitioner,” directed the bench.
During the hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Khedkar, argued the HC made strong observations against her while dismissing her anticipatory bail plea. SC said nothing had happened to Khedkar so far and “no had touched her”.
Luthra submitted if the matter went to trial, it would end up in a conviction for there were strong findings by the high court.
When the SC enquired about Khedkar’s current status, Luthra said she had lost her job and was pursuing legal remedies. The matter was posted for hearing on Feb 14.
While dismissing her plea, the HC found a strong prima facie case against Khedkar and said an investigation was needed to unearth the “larger conspiracy” to manipulate the system, and allowing the reprieve would adversely impact it.
