The Delhi High Court is slated to deliver its judgment on Monday regarding the anticipatory bail plea of sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of submitting false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limits for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by faking her identity.

According to the causelist published on the Delhi HC website, a bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh will pronounce its verdict on December 23.

Earlier, on November 28, the Justice Singh-led bench had reserved its decision after hearing arguments from both sides. It was clarified that until the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier to Puja Khedkar, shielding her from arrest, will continue.

In an interim order passed on August 12, the Delhi High Court had granted her protection from arrest while asking Khedkar to cooperate with the investigation.

Earlier, a lower court had rejected her anticipatory bail plea and instructed the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had assisted Khedkar. The scope of the probe was expanded, with Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala asking Delhi Police to investigate whether other candidates recommended by the UPSC had fraudulently availed quota benefits without entitlement.

On September 7, the Centre sacked Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar was found guilty of faking and wrongfully availing OBC and disability quota benefits.

After cancelling her selection, the UPSC also barred her from taking the entrance exam for life, citing her fraudulent use of a fake identity to attempt the exam multiple times.

According to a status report submitted by the Delhi Police to the Delhi High Court, Khedkar had submitted two disability certificates for her UPSC exam—one dated 2018 and the other dated 2021, both citing “multiple disabilities.” The certificates were purportedly issued by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital for her UPSC attempts in 2022 and 2023. However, the hospital authorities denied issuing these certificates.

The investigation revealed that Khedkar had availed relaxed criteria for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities. It was also discovered that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property worth Rs 40 crore, disqualifying her from the non-creamy layer OBC quota.

The UPSC stated that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) failed to detect her number of attempts primarily because she had changed not only her name but also her parents’ names.

The Delhi High Court also issued a notice to Khedkar in response to an application filed by the UPSC, which alleged that she committed perjury by swearing a false affidavit and making a false statement in relation to her anticipatory bail plea. The UPSC disputed Khedkar’s claim that no biometrics (eyes and fingerprints) were collected during her personality test, arguing she made a false statement to obtain favorable orders.