Former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, contesting the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) decision to cancel her provisional candidature for the civil services examination. The court is expected to hear her case on Wednesday.

On July 31, the UPSC cancelled Khedkar's provisional candidature and permanently barred her from all future exams conducted by the commission. The decision followed an investigation which found her in violation of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 rules.

In a press release, the UPSC explained that Khedkar was issued a Show Cause Notice on July 18, accusing her of exceeding the permissible number of attempts by "faking her identity." The commission stated it had "carefully considered" her case and granted her until 3:30 pm on July 30 to respond.

The UPSC emphasized that this was her final opportunity to provide an explanation, and no further extensions would be granted. Khedkar was informed that failure to respond by the specified deadline would result in further action.

Despite the extension, Khedkar did not submit her explanation within the given timeframe, leading to the cancellation of her candidature.