“Don’t consider 7 of 12 attempts in the Civil Services exam”

On Friday former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar urged the Delhi High Court to disregard seven of her 12 acknowledged attempts to pass the uber-competitive Civil Services entrance exam.

Specifically, Ms. Khedkar doubled down on physical disability claims - she has a Maharashtra hospital certificate diagnosing her with an "old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability" - and asked, therefore, that only attempts in the 'divyang' category be counted.

She has claimed a 47 percent disability as against the government's 40 percent benchmark.

In an affidavit filed with the court this morning, she asked that her seven attempts as a general-category student be disregarded. Should this be accepted, it will reduce the number of confirmed attempts to five (each of which she passed). This is four less than the upper limits for persons with disabilities, and one less than that allowed for general-category candidates.

The Delhi High Court is hearing an anticipatory bail plea by Ms Khedkar, who faces criminal charges, including forgery and cheating. On August 1 a city court had rejected her plea. The lower court dismissed Ms Khedkar's claims about "imminent threat of arrest".

Days later she moved the High Court and the police, also asked to submit a fresh response to her plea - were told not to arrest her till a final verdict. That protection is in place till Thursday.

The police have sought dismissal of her plea on grounds that any relief will hinder its investigation into a "deep-rooted conspiracy". The cops also argued that giving Ms Khedkar bail could damage public perception of the integrity of the civil services examination and the UPSC. The UPSC, in turn, has told the Delhi High Court Ms Khedkar committed a "fraud".

Meanwhile, Ms Khedkar has also rejected a claim by the UPSC - which is the government body that conducts the exam - that she changed her name and surname for one of the 12 attempts, in an attempt to circumvent rules limiting chances per candidate, depending on certain factors.

She claimed only her middle name had been altered and argued, "Therefore, there is no truth in the allegation that there has been a major change in my name". "UPSC verified my identity through biometric data... did not find my documents (to be) fake or incorrect..." she argued.

She has also claimed the UPSC, which has revoked her selection - lacks the authority to do so since she had already been selected and appointed as a probationary officer. Only the union government, specifically the Department of Personnel and Training, can take action, she said.

Last month the UPSC said Ms Khedkar had changed her name, and that of her parents, to secure another crack at the exam. The central body said she had been served a notice for "fraudulently availing attempts, beyond permissible limit... by faking her identity".

Puja Khedkar made headlines after claims she lied about physical and mental disabilities, and changed her name and surname, as well as forging an OBC certificate, to clear the exam. Ms Khedkar's violations were exposed in June after it emerged she had secured perks beyond her pay grade, such as a siren and a 'Government of Maharashtra' sticker for her private vehicle.