The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will scrutinise the disability certificates of six civil servants, including probationers and serving officials, sources said. The development comes following a huge controversy over allegations that former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar submitted false disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates for selection.
The DoPT has written to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to re-examine the disability status of the candidates by a medical board. The medical certificates of these six civil servants were flagged on social media.
As per UPSC rules, a candidate should have a minimum of 40 per cent disability to avail reservation benefits. UPSC also provides relaxation in age limits, number of attempts and special provisions in exam centres for specially abled candidates.
Khedkar received a 7 per cent locomotor disability certificate from Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital in 2022 despite the physiotherapy department reporting no disability.
She allegedly used the certificate to appear for the civil service exam more times than permissible in violation of rules.
Earlier this week, the UPSC cancelled Khedkar's candidature in the 2022 civil services examination (CSE) and barred her from appearing for any future exams.
A case has also been registered by Delhi Police against Khedkar over this following a complaint by the UPSC.
The UPSC said it had examined the data of over 15,000 candidates and found that no one apart from Khedkar had availed of more attempts than permissable. It was "primarily due to the fact that she changed not only her name but also her parents' name", the UPSC said.
On the submission of false disability and caste certificates by Khedkar, the UPSC said it carries out preliminary scrutiny and considers the certificates genuine if they are issued by the competent authority.
"The UPSC neither has the mandate nor the wherewithal to check the veracity of thousands of certificates submitted by the candidates every year," it said.
Source: India Today