Puja Khedkar Controversy: Understanding Rules for IAS Officers and Trainees

Puja Khedkar Controversy: Puja Khedkar who was a trainee IAS officer is accused of summiting fake disability documents and ODC certificates to claim special benefits during the 2023 UPSC exam.

Puja Khedkar's Controversy was stirred up when she used a red-blue beacon light and a VIP number plate on his gifted Audi Car. She was also accused of tormenting his colleagues and demanding certain perks during her posting in Pune.

As per the reports, Puja Khedkar scored an All India Rank (AIR) of 821 in the 2023 UPSC exam.

After her continuous allegations, the Maharastra government moved Khedkar from Pune to Washim last week.

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Khedkar was transferred to the Washim District Collectorate in the Vidarbha region because of a complaint being registered against her by the Pune district court.

As per reports, Puja Khedkar broke two rules that an IAS trainee and an IAS officer should abide by.

The first rule under All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and the Indian Administrative Service (Probation) Rules, 1954 that the IAS trainee Puja Khedkar broke was that probationary IAS officers get a fixed pay and a travel allowance and are not allowed special rights that IAS officers have like having an official car with a VIP license plate.

The authorities may disqualify trainees if they don’t follow the prescribed rules, and strict actions will be taken if the trainee fails to fulfill their duties, and if their behavior is inappropriate for the service. The authorities will make their decision after conducting an investigation.

In Puja Khedkar, the authorities have formed a group to check all the documents of Puja Khedekar.

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The second rule that Puja Khedhkar broke was submitting fake documents to OBC certificates to avail of special benefits so that she could pass the civil service exam easily.

As per the reports, Puja even submitted a fake mental illness certificate to get special benefits. PTI reported that she was asked to visit the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to have her disability certificate checked but she didn’t and gave an excuse of being Covid positive.

Reports also stated that before her positing in Pune, she demanded a house and a car.

A total of 27% of seats in the civil services are set aside for people from the OBC category and 3% of seats in the general, OBC, ST, and SC categories are set aside for people with disabilities.

However, although Puja Khedhkar scored a low rank but was accepted for the IAS position because of these fake certificates.

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