NEW DELHI : The Center has dismissed controversial trainee civil servant Pooja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect. A month ago, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), one of the most trusted institutions of government service, canceled her selection.A senior DoPT official said that “on September 6, the Central government discharged Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, IAS probationer, Maharashtra cadre, 2023 batch from the IAS under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954 with immediate effect.
Ms. Khedkar was found guilty of cheating and wrongly taking advantage of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits. However, Ms. Khedkar has denied all the allegations. After canceling her selection, UPSC barred her from appearing in entrance examinations for life. UPSC found her guilty of misrepresenting her identity to take the exam several times. Following the controversy, UPSC had examined the data of more than 15,000 candidates who passed the IAS screening process between 2009 and 2023. “After this exhaustive exercise, except in the case of Ms Pooja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate has taken more than the number of attempts permitted under the CSE Rules,” the UPSC had said, citing the civil services exam rules.
Ms Khedkar’s troubles began in June when Pune Collector Suhas Divase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik flagging the trainee IAS officer’s demand for perks such as a car, staff and an office, which she was not entitled to during her two-year probation. Following this, Ms Khedkar was transferred to Washim.
Amid the controversy, her selection to the IAS hit the headlines. It was found that she had availed concessional norms for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities. Then it was revealed that her father, a former Maharashtra government official, owned assets worth Rs 40 crore and she was not eligible for the OBC non-creamy layer tag. It also emerged that she did not appear for a mandatory health check-up at a government facility to confirm exemption for disability.
Meanwhile, a video of her sarpanch mother brandishing a gun to threaten people also emerged. Manorama Khedkar was later arrested. Her father Dilip Khedkar is now under investigation for amassing disproportionate assets. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has received over 30 complaints alleging that selected candidates have misrepresented their credentials and other details.
Pooja Khedkar on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that she is ready to undergo medical examination at AIIMS after the city police claimed that one of her disability certificates may be “fake” and “bogus”. Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongfully availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits, made the submission when the court was hearing her anticipatory bail plea in a criminal case.
“I am ready to get my medical examination done. First they said I have changed my name. Now they say the disability is suspicious. I am ready to go to AIIMS,” said the senior advocate appearing for Khedkar.

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