On Thursday, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar regarding a perjury application filed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which alleges that she provided false statements to the court.

Khedkar has recently made headlines for allegedly fraudulently passing the civil services examination. Justice Subramonium Prasad, who is presiding over Khedkar's anticipatory bail plea, requested her response to the UPSC's perjury application and scheduled the next hearing for September 26.

According to the UPSC, Khedkar provided misleading information to her senior counsel, resulting in inaccurate submissions to the court. The perjury application alleges that Khedkar lied under oath by submitting a false affidavit with her bail request. Notably, although the UPSC order she is contesting was issued on July 31, 2024, her affidavit was dated July 28, 2024.

As a result, the UPSC has called for an inquiry into Khedkar’s actions and her prosecution for perjury. This application was filed under Section 379 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which has replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The UPSC is represented by Senior Advocate Naresh Kaushik, along with advocates Mayank Sharma and Vardhman Kaushik, while Khedkar is represented by Advocate Bina Madhavan. She is accused of fraudulently utilizing reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PWD) to pass the UPSC exam.

The Delhi Police registered a case against Khedkar based on a complaint from the UPSC, and last month, the High Court granted her interim protection from arrest. This marks the second perjury application the UPSC has filed against her in the High Court. On September 12, Justice Jyoti Singh issued a notice regarding another perjury application claiming that Khedkar provided false information in a separate petition challenging the cancellation of her candidature.