'No power to...': Days after UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar's candidature, ex-trainee IAS officer now...

Ex-trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar has challenged UPSC's decision, which cancelled her provisional candidature and debarred her from all future examinations. The ex-trainee IAS officer has submitted before the Delhi High Court that the panel had no power to act against her. UPSC took the decision after Khedkar was found guilty of misusing her power and faking her identity. The panel also filed an FIR against her.

Khedkar is accused of falsifying and misrepresenting facts in her application to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the civil services exams every year to select IAS, IPS, IFS and other officers.

In a response filed before the Delhi High Court on the UPSC's charges against her, Khedkar argued that once selected and appointed as a probationer, the UPSC ceases power to disqualify her candidature.

She asserted that only the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had the power to take action against her. "DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) alone can take action under the All India Services Act, 1954 and the Probationer Rules as per Rule 19 of the CSE 2022 Rules," Khedkar said, India Today reported.

Khedkar said the UPSC had verified her biometric data before her appearance in the exam. She further said that all documents had been verified by the commission during her "personality test" in 2022. The Delhi High Court had extended the interim protection from arrest for Khedkar till August 29.

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