Who is Puja Khedkar, the trainee IAS officer embroiled in controversy?

Puja Khedkar, a 32-year-old trainee IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, is at the centre of a growing controversy amid which the Narendra Modi government has formed a one-member panel to

probe the allegations against her.  

From using an amber beacon on her Audi, to clearing exams under the “visually impaired” quota while bypassing mandatory medical tests to prove her “disability”, to occupying a senior

officer’s chamber without authorisation, her actions have not just attracted media attention but also raised serious questions about her selection and conduct as an IAS officer.

Khedkar, a 2022 batch officer, had been assigned to the Pune collectorate on June 3, 2024 as an assistant collector on probation. But her tenure was marred by acts of indiscipline and

inappropriate demands, prompting Suhas Diwase, the district collector, to send a 25-page report to Nitin Gadre, the additional chief secretary. 

The report contained detailed complaints, including her alleged high-handed treatment of junior staff and unauthorised occupation of the antechamber of Ajay More, the additional collector.

Khedkar has now been transferred amid her probation period to Washim district of the state’s Vidarbha region as an assistant collector.

Her use of an amber beacon on her high-end car and her rude, demanding behaviour had already become the talk of Pune’s administrative circles. But all hell broke loose when Khedkar’s father,

Dilip Khedkar, a retired bureaucrat himself, allegedly threatened the tehsildar on the phone and said: “You guys are purposely troubling my daughter, who is a woman officer. You will face

consequences for these acts of yours.”

This added fuel to fire, forcing Diwase to send the complaint to the additional chief secretary, calling the father’s intervention “objectionable and deserving of action”. It also included

text messages and photographs illustrating the probationer’s allegedly assertive behaviour and the “unilateral changes” made by her to More’s antechamber.

More than a sense of duty, there is a sense of authority and demand in her behaviour, which is “not a good sign for an administrative officer”, the complaint said. 

Khedkar took the civil services exam in 2019 and was selected for the Indian Revenue Service in 2020. She could not join the service because of a technical problem. Then she applied for the

Sports Authority of India, where she got a posting as an assistant director. In 2021, she again appeared for the civil services exam and was selected for the IAS under the PwBD, or Persons

with Benchmark Disabilities, category. Her all-India rank was 821.

She had claimed that she was suffering from a mental illness and blindness. But after her selection, she repeatedly missed the dates for a medical examination.

After her selection, the Union government’s department of personnel and training, or DoPT, recommended her for a medical examination at AIIMS. She was asked to report for it on April 22,

2022, but she didn’t, pleading that she had contracted Covid. She asked for the test to be rescheduled for May 27, 2022 at Safdarjung Hospital, but she remained absent. Then the test was

rescheduled for July 1, 2022 but again she didn’t report.

Once again, her medical examination was rescheduled for August 26, 2022, at AIIMS. She was told to come for an MRI (brain) test to assess the cause of loss of vision in both eyes. However,

she didn’t report for it. The AIIMS authorities tried to contact her repeatedly but she didn’t respond. As a result, the percentage of visual disability could not be assessed.

Through a communication to DoPT on November 25, 2022, Khedkar said she couldn’t go for an MRI test as she was suffering from claustrophobia.

Because of her repeated “negligence”, her candidature was about to be  cancelled by the DoPT. However, she filed an application in the Central Administrative Tribunal, which dismissed her

plea. Then she approached the Bombay High Court, from where she got relief and was given a chance to appear for a medical exam – again at AIIMS.

Vaibhav Kulkarni, the lawyer who represented Khedkar in the CAT and the Bombay High Court, said: “CAT cancelled her candidature because she didn’t go for the medical exam. She said she was

suffering from claustrophobia and was willing to take an alternate test, but CAT rejected this. We then approached the Bombay High Court, which, considering her disability category, ordered

that she be given one more chance to undergo a medical exam at AIIMS. She later informed me that she underwent the medical exams and was cleared.”

There are several other questions about her selection as an IAS officer. Recently, an old video of one of her mock interviews has gone viral, where she claims that her father’s income is

zero and that she is not in contact with her parents because they are “separated”. However, none of her answers in the mock interview match the reality.

Khedkar’s father, Dilip Khedkar, a former bureaucrat at the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board, recently contested the Lok Sabha election from his home district of Ahmednagar for the

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, led by Prakash Ambedkar. According to his election affidavit, he has wealth exceeding Rs 40 crore. Khedkar has visited his daughter multiple times at the Pune

collectorate.

Khedkar’s mother, Manorama Khedkar, is also active in public life and serves as the sarpanch of Bhalgaon village in Pathardi tehsil of Ahmednagar. Khedkar’s maternal grandfather, Jagganath

Rao Budhwant, was also an IAS officer.

Another issue raising suspicion about Khedkar’s selection is the allegation related to her OBC non-creamy layer certificate. Only those with the family’s annual income below Rs 8 lakh can

apply under the non-creamy layer category. 

Apart from her father’s wealth, Khedkar herself owns two flats and four plots worth around Rs 17 crore in Pune and Ahmednagar, according to her 2023 statement of immovable property.

Khedkar, who claimed to have an MBBS degree from Pune, also claimed to have worked at Delhi’s Ganga Ram Hospital as an endocrinologist. She appeared for the UPSC exam for the first time in

2019. She was selected for the IRS, but was not given an appointment letter because of some technical issues in OBC quota allotment.

Pune-based RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said: “This is a clear case of abuse of power and fraud. Despite not appearing for the medical exams for four to five times and getting her candidature

almost cancelled, how did she manage to become an IAS officer? Also, she has used a non-creamy layer certificate despite her family having income in crores. This is a serious issue and it’s

high time it was investigated.”

Mumbai-based activist Vaibhav Kokat said: “Some major corruption and manipulation has taken place in her selection. Who in the world doesn’t go for medical exams after getting selected for

one of the most reputed jobs in the country. The central government should look into the matter because such selections destroy the dreams of many aspirants.”

This article was originally published in Newslaundry and is republished with consent