PMO seeks report on Puja Khedkar from Pune collector

Two days after she was transferred from Pune to Washim over allegations of bullying and entitled behaviour, 32-year-old Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer from the 2023 batch of the Maharashtra cadre, has courted yet another controversy – it has come to light that she had allegedly misused benefits under the physical disabilities category and other backward class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the Indian Administrative Services.

Puja’s transfer to Washim on Monday evening came barely two weeks after Pune district collector Suhas Diwase’s communication to additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre requesting the latter to consider posting the junior officer in another district to avoid administrative complications.

On Wednesday, the controversy further intensified with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) seeking a report on the matter from the Pune collector, sources have told HT. Additionally, the Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LSBNAA), which trains civil services candidates, has sought a report from the state government on Khedkar’s various lapses that led to her transfer to Washim. The academy’s final report will be sent to Union Public Service Commission.

Deputy director of LSBNAA Shailesh Naval has asked the state’s general administration to send a report, after the approval of chief secretary Sujata Saunik. According to sources in Mantralaya, Khedkar barged into Saunik’s cabin on Wednesday without her permission. A peeved Saunik told HT: “She came in without seeking time, following which I told her to leave and see the additional chief secretary of general administration Nitin Gadre as I had a busy work schedule.”

Meanwhile, on the third day after her transfer, Puja did not join her duties, said Washim district collector Buveneswari S. “We have received the state government order, but Khedkar is yet to join her duty. She has neither contacted me nor any administration official,” said Buveneswari S.

As photographs of Puja and her Audi with VIP registration number went viral, social media was abuzz with how the medical doctor-turned-third generation civic servant had allegedly misused the system.

Playing the OBC, PWBD cards

According to service allocation list released by the department of personnel and training, Puja got through the IAS with All India Rank 821 under the OBC and PWBD (persons with benchmark disabilities) categories.

Interestingly, while Khedkar applied under the OBC category, which has an income cap of ₹8 lakh per year for the creamy layer certificate, her father, Dilip, a retired senior officer of the Maharashtra government, declared an annual income of ₹43 lakh and an estimated wealth of ₹40 crore in his affidavit for the recent Lok Sabha (LS) elections.

Dilip unsuccessfully contested the elections from Ahmednagar as a candidate for Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) garnering over 15,000 votes. Both Puja and her father did not respond to HT’s calls or text messages.

In one of her mock interviews, a video of which was released by a private coaching class academy on social media, the junior officer, when asked about income, claimed that her parents are separated, and she is not in touch with them. However, after joining duty in Pune, Puja’s father accompanied her and threatened a senior officer to get her the antechamber.

After clearing the UPSC exams, Puja was first asked by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi to appear for a medical examination on April 22, 2022 to ascertain her disabilities and verify the certificate she had submitted. She failed to turn up despite AIIMS calling her six times. She skipped it citing different reasons such as Covid-19 or inability to undergo MRI.

On September 22, 2022, AIIMS informed the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) that the examination could not be completed on account of Puja’s non-cooperation and thereafter on November 14, 2022, AIIMS wrote a letter informing that the petitioner should contact DOPT that her candidature cannot be considered.

“Despite multiple attempts by the duty officer at AIIMS to contact the applicant (Puja), no response was received from her. Therefore, the percentage of visual disability could not be assessed,” stated the February 23, 2023, order by Justice MG Sewlikar, judicial member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Meanwhile, documents submitted to CAT and seen by HT, reveal that Puja appeared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam in 2021 under the OBC and visually impaired categories. Additionally, she claimed mental illness in order to secure her IAS posting despite her All India Rank being low.

“The IAS probationer who was my client had approached CAT seeking directions to provide reservations for persons with disability for A (visual impairment) and D (mental disability) categories as provided under section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016,” said Puja’s counsel, advocate Vaibhav Kulkarni.

Arguing before CAT, Kulkarni stated that his client was suffering from ‘claustrophobia’ and could not be subjected to MRI. Khedkar had requested the DOPT that instead of MRI, the test may be conducted by another method using the drug vilazodone. CAT however, refused to accept the argument.

Puja then approached the Bombay High Court and got a stay on the CAT order.

“We challenged the CAT order before HC. The HC bench comprising justices S V Gangapurwala and Sandeep Marje in its April 23, 2023, order gave Khedkar the liberty to appear again before the AIIMS medical board. Her (Puja’s) father later told me that she subsequently appeared for the medical examination and got through,” said advocate Kulkarni.

Her selection process has raised many questions with demands for a probe.

“It is a surprise how Puja managed to evade every rule right from the OBC quota creamy layer and physical disabilities and yet managed to secure the posting. The UPSC and the government need to probe this matter thoroughly,” said Vijay Kumbar, state vice-president, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Puja had in 2019 cleared the civil service exam and gotten into the Indian Revenue Service. However, in another old interview, she claimed that she did not get the posting over some technical issues pertaining to the OBC category.

In 2021, she took the exam once again and additionally opted under PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities)- Level V category besides OBC quota. The Level V indicates higher disabilities.