Pooja Khedkar dismissed from IAS Duties

Controversial IAS probationary officer Pooja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, who is facing serious allegations over cheating and misusing the quota for OBC and disability quota to get through the coveted civil services exam in 2022, has now been terminated forthwith by the centre. Exercising the Rule 12 of the IAS ( Probation) Rules, 1954, she was discharged from the service. This comes weeks after the UPSC cancelled her candidature after the preliminary enquiries. 

The serious allegations on Pooja Khedkar came to light after her overbearing and presumptuous attitude and abuse of position in discharging her official duties resulted in her transfer from Pune to Washim in Maharashtra following a spate of complaints on her inappropriate conduct. Later on, several discrepancies in her medical certificates and caste certificates have been reported, leading to a deeper investigation of her credentials and candidature.

Based on the complaints, the UPSC enquired into the allegations and primary facie evidence revealed grave lapses on her part. Subsequently, the UPSC filed a case against her for allegedly forging disability certificates to pass the exam. A criminal prosecution has been initiated against her and a show cause notice was issued for cancellation of her candidature. 

The rules allow the central government to discharge probationers from service if they fail “to pass the re-examination…” or “if the central government is satisfied that the probationer was ineligible for recruitment to the Service or is unsuitable for being a member of the Service”, among others.