The Supreme Court directed Puja Khedkar to appear in court in front of Delhi police on May 2 for inquiries, no arrest

After Puja Khedkar Row, the government must change the rules of civil service examinations. File | Image source: ANI

The Supreme Court directed former IAS probation agent Puja Khedkar to appear in Delhi Police Crime Department (Central) on Monday (21 April 2025) to challenge it even though it ordered no “mandatory steps” in the case against her.

A judge led by BV Nagarathna directed Ms. Khedkar to appear on May 2 at 10.30 am and any other day (if called).

She was accused of cheating on the civil service exam and misuse of OBC and disability quota benefits.

Other Deputy Attorney General SV Raju told police that her custody trial was necessary to identify the identity of a middleman involved in a scam suspected of preparing for a fraud for the UPSC aspirants.

Mr Raju said Khedkar’s family owned many properties and was not eligible for quota benefits as a member of the non-ice cream layer OBC community. The lawyer said there was a powerful hall behind her. Only her custody trial can prove productive and further investigations can be conducted.

“The validity of the interrogation will depend on the agent. You interrogate her first and we’ll see.”

The court passed an order urging the police to complete the investigation as soon as possible.

Justice Nagarathna warned senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and advocate Bina Madhavan for Ms. Khedkar that if she did not cooperate with the trial, the order would be “a drastic step” on his client. The bench said Ms. Kadeka had to take all the documents the police sought from her.

Justice Nagaratna warned: “If she doesn’t bring records, etc., she will face consequences.”

Agree, Mr. Lusla said: “We understand. She cannot be quick and loose.

The Supreme Court earlier granted Ms. Khedkar temporary protection from January’s arrest. After Puja Khedkar Row, the government must make changes to the civil service examination rules.

At an earlier hearing, Mr Raju proposed that Ms Khedkar was allowed to rule nine attempts on the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam in the regular course, but by preparing for the forged disability certificate, she took additional attempts to test. He has said that Ms. Khedkar has been taking the UPSC exam since 2012, and then she obtained a fake disability certificate to increase some chances to crack the exam.