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The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended its interim order of granting protection from arrest to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of forging her documents to obtain eligibility for the 2022 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) test.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma also asked the Delhi police to complete the probe fast. The apex court asked why the Delhi police was not completing the investigation when Khedkar herself had said on an affidavit that she was willing to cooperate. "You must track up this investigation steadfastly," Justice Nagarathna told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who was appearing for Delhi Police. The bench posted for April 15 to hear an anticipatory bail plea filed by Khedkar. During the hearing, ASG Raju told the top court that police need to have a custodial interrogation in order to investigate the larger scam of fake documents submitted by UPSC candidates. Saying custodial interrogation of Khedkar is required to unearth the scam, Raju said, "We have found that this is a scam which may involve persons who are involved in giving certificates, etc. We want to investigate whether her's is an isolated case or there is a larger number of cases." The bench said that the source from where Khedkar allegedly got forged certificates needs to be revealed but that does not require her to be necessarily kept in custody. The counsel appearing for Khedkar, opposed the allegations of forgery, and stated that she was diagnosed with a low-vision disability only in 2018 and since then she has attempted UPSC thrice. The counsel said her attempt as a disabled candidate has not been exhausted yet. "You must have to justify your attempts," said the bench. Khedkar has challenged the Delhi High court order rejecting her anticipatory bail plea. In January, the apex court granted her interim protection from arrest and asked her to cooperate in the investigation. Khedkar is accused of fraudulently availing reservation meant for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in order to clear the UPSC exam. The Delhi High Court earlier, while dismissing anticipatory bail plea had made strong observations against Khedkar saying its a "classic example of fraud, not only with a constitutional body but also with society and the nation as a whole." The High Court had emphasised that interrogation is necessary to uncover the conspiracy involved. The High Court had also highlighted that the father and mother held high-ranking positions, suggesting the possibility of collusion with influential individuals. Khedkar is facing criminal charges filed by the Delhi Police, accusing her of cheating and unlawfully claiming OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination. (ANI)
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