The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, who is accused of cheating and wrongly availing of OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services exam. Granting her the relief, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra took a sympathetic view of the accused and said “she has lost everything and will not get a job anywhere”. Rejecting the Delhi Police’s opposition to her bail plea, Justice Nagarathna remarked orally, “what is the grave crime she has committed? She is not a drug lord or a terrorist. She has not committed murder. She is not an NDPS offender…” Khedkar had approached the SC after the Delhi High Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea. Allowing her anticipatory bail, the SC ordered, “Considering the circumstances on record, in our view, the appellant is entitled to the relief claimed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. We, therefore, allow this appeal and set aside the order passed by the High Court dated 23.12.2024.” The SC directed that “in the event of arrest of the appellant, the arresting officer shall release the appellant on bail subject to furnishing cash security in the sum of Rs 25,000 with two like sureties”. It asked Khedkar to “extend complete cooperation in the ensuing investigation and to “not misuse her liberty and… not in any way influence the witnesses or tamper with the material on record”. The top court said “Should there be any violation of the aforesaid conditions, then liberty is reserved to the respondent herein to seek cancellation of anticipatory bail”. The Delhi Police had registered an FIR under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. Appearing for her, Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, said the investigation had been going on since July 2024 and cited his client’s complete cooperation in the probe while seeking anticipatory bail. Opposing this, the Delhi Police counsel said she has not been cooperating with the investigation although she may be appearing before the investigating authority as and when summoned.
