Former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar told the Delhi High Court that she had not received an official order that her candidature had been cancelled by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). She never got to receive an email about this and only had to read it in the newspapers. Khedkar thought she had bounced back to the public service after the UPSC had provisionally selected her for the IAS. Still, the UPSC reversed its decision, an action that Khedkar took to the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, where the matter came before a bench presided over by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan.
The UPSC, it will be recalled, had on July 31 this year affirmed that it had withdrawn Khedkar’s provisional candidature on grounds of cheating and forgery. The statement of the commission explained that Khedkar was guilty of violating examination rules, which led to the bar of her selection and all other examinations. This was due to an order from the UPSC, which was publicized through a press release. The UPSC’s action was to inform the public that ASK had been cancelled, but Khedkar asserted that no formal notice of this effect had been communicated to her.
The senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for Khedkar, pointed out the differential treatment in the court by showing a press release indicating that while Harish has been informed in writing about the decision, Khedkar has not been formally informed of the decision. While cross-examining, Jaising never provided the press release alone. She stated that it was insufficient and asked for the official order to be produced for Puja Khedkar so she could formally fight against it before the right tribunal.
In response to this, the UPSC agreed and told the Delhi High Court that they would issue the official order of cancellation to Khedkar within the next two days. In this case, the court sui generis let Khedkar go free to record her civil wrong for the highest legal forum to challenge the singular decision of the UPSC once it furnished her with documentary materials. With this, Khedkar advances to another stage in his legal battle against UPSC and the actions they undertook.
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