Delhi High Court Extends Relief From Arrest For Sacked Trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar Until October 14

The Delhi High Court has extended the relief from arrest for sacked trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar until October 14. The court will hear her anticipatory bail plea on that date. Justice Chandradhari Singh will preside over the case.

Allegations of False Affidavit

The UPSC has filed an affidavit accusing Pooja Khedkar of submitting a false affidavit to the court. Khedkar faces allegations of submitting fake certificates to secure reservation in the 2022 UPSC Civil Services Examination. The court had initially directed the Delhi Police not to arrest Khedkar until August 21, with the relief being extended gradually since then.

Khedkar’s lawyer has requested additional time to respond to the UPSC’s claims. Khedkar argues that the allegations against her stem from a sexual harassment complaint she filed against an officer. She has also criticized the media’s portrayal of her case and requested that neither side conduct press conferences.

UPSC’s Rebuttal and Future Actions

The Delhi Police’s counsel stated that the agency operates independently of media influence. Meanwhile, the senior counsel for the UPSC contended that Khedkar had positioned herself as a public figure. On July 31, the UPSC canceled Khedkar’s remaining candidature and permanently banned her from future examinations.

The UPSC claims that Khedkar falsely stated in her anticipatory bail plea that the commission collected her biometrics during her personality test. The commission denied this, asserting that it has never collected biometric information from candidates during any civil services personality tests conducted to date. The UPSC alleges that Khedkar aimed to deceive the court to obtain a favorable ruling.

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