Manoj Soni had about 5 years left for his tenure to end. His tenure was to end in 2029, but he left his post before that.
IAS पूजा खेडकर विवाद के बीच UPSC अध्यक्ष सोनी ने कार्यकाल पूरा होने से पहले ही दिया इस्तीफा
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman Manoj Soni has resigned from his post. It is worth noting that he has sent his resignation to the President before the completion of his tenure. He has resigned at a time when UPSC is in controversy over trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar.
However, Manoj Soni has cited personal reasons behind his resignation. According to reports, he resigned in the last week of June. At present, official information about his resignation being accepted has not been revealed.
Manoj Soni had about 5 years left for his tenure to end. His tenure was to end in 2029, but he left his post before that. He joined UPSC as a member in 2017. On 16 May 2023, he was made the chairman of UPSC. He was Vice Chancellor three times. Soni became the youngest university vice-chancellor in the country in 2005.
Why is UPSC in controversy over Pooja Khedkar?
Pooja Khedkar is a trainee IAS of Maharashtra cadre. Pooja Khedkar is accused of manipulating her documents and giving wrong information to UPSC to get the post of IAS. It is alleged that she had participated in the UPSC examination by submitting a certificate of being visually impaired and mentally ill. On that basis, she became an IAS by getting special concessions. If she had not got this concession, it would have been impossible for her to get the IAS post on the basis of the marks obtained.
According to Pooja Khedkar’s documents, she showed an increase of only one year in age instead of a gap of 3 years in the information given to the Central Appellate Tribunal in 2020 and then in 2023. Khedkar did not undergo any test to prove her benchmark disability. UPSC had challenged her selection in the Central Appellate Tribunal (CAT), which ruled against her in February 2023. Khedkar had sought relaxation in the upper age limit for persons with benchmark disabilities for herself in the CAT application form of 2020 and 2023.
It is alleged that after selection, Pooja had to undergo medical examination, but she postponed it. She refused to undergo medical examination 6 times for various reasons. Later opted to submit an MRI report from an external medical agency, which UPSC refused to accept. However, UPSC later accepted this report. This is the reason why UPSC is embroiled in this matter. There is a demand for investigation from the government.
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