‘Puja Khedkar story is the opposite of mine’—they cleared UPSC but didn’t get the job

The 8-year-old legal battle has left such candidates fatigued. Many have had a hard time all these years explaining their non-selection to relatives and society.

Ketan cleared the UPSC Civil Services Exam under the OBC non-creamy layer category in 2015 and secured rank 860, but when the service allocation list was released, his name was missing. | special arrangement

New Delhi: If things had worked out as per the “correct interpretation” of selection rules, 36-year-old Ketan would have become a civil servant. Instead, he is teaching UPSC students online because he was removed from the OBC non-creamy layer list by the Department of Personnel and Training, DoPT, when it was considering his selection. He cleared the UPSC Civil Services Exam under the OBC non-creamy layer category in 2015 and secured rank 860, but when the service allocation list was released, his name was missing.

That was eight years ago. Since then, he and 55 others have been fighting a case that has reached the Supreme Court.

The Puja Khedkar case has given fresh ammo to this group of 56 who allege misinterpretation of selection rules by the DoPT. They are fighting a legal battle in the courts demanding allocation of service or the correct service by the DoPT. And the eight-year-old legal battle has left them fatigued, their frustration reflecting in the WhatsApp group that unites them for the fight. Many have had a hard time all these years explaining their non-selection to their relatives and society. Add to this the financial struggles of fighting the legal battle. The Delhi High Court and the Madras High Court ruled in favour of the candidates but the DoPT took the case to the top court.

“I gave the most productive years of my youth to this exam, and I succeeded. I cleared it. It was the DoPT that failed to interpret a rule. I carry the trauma of not being able to join every day with me,” said Ketan, while also pointing fingers at the DoPT vis-a-vis the selection of Pooja Khedkar—the former trainee IAS alleged of forging her OBC certificates.

Between 2013 and 2017, at least 56 OBC candidates whose parents are PSU employees were either excluded from joining the services or allotted cadres that were not as per their preference, they allege. Many among this group of 56 allege that based on their rank and following the trend of the previous years, they should have simply been allocated a service or a “higher service”. But according to the DoPT, they were not eligible for OBC non-creamy layer reservation. While some of these 56 are serving in the IAS, IPS, and IRS, many have chosen alternative careers like Ketan.

I gave the most productive years of my youth to this exam, and I succeeded. I cleared it. It was the DoPT that failed in interpreting a rule. I carry the trauma of not being able to join every day with me — Ketan, UPSC candidate who cleared the exam but didn’t get the job  

ThePrint has reached out to DoPT through calls and emails. The story will be updated after the response is received.

“Pooja Khedkar’s story was exactly the opposite of mine. How could the DoPT interpret one rule and ruin our careers, but fail to verify Khedkar’s certificates? That shows they are not doing their job properly,” said a visibly disappointed Ketan.

Qualified, not allotted

In 2016, clearing the UPSC CSE was a huge moment for Ketan and his family. He remembers throwing a small party to celebrate his success with relatives and friends. But the celebrations turned into mourning a month later, when his name didn’t appear in the service allocation list.

This started a long campaign of knocking on the doors of government offices, seeking resolution — from DoPT, the National Commission of Backward Classes, and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) to a Parliamentary committee for the welfare of backward classes headed by Ganesh Singh. All 56 have written to DOPT saying Ketan’s claim for OBC Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) is genuine.

“There was no prior information from the DoPT about my exclusion from the non-creamy layer category. When I couldn’t find my name on the list, I reached out to the department, and I was told that I do not come under the OBC non-creamy layer, which was wrong and will be proven in court,” said Ketan.

Since then, Ketan has given two more attempts but said he couldn’t make it to the list as his energy and attention were divided between preparation and the legal fight.

“Wearing the same suit, I used to appear for my mock interviews and then go to the meetings with lawyers. My focus was divided,” said Ketan.

The 2015 CSE was Ketan’s third attempt at clearing the prestigious exam. And he scored 190 marks out of 275 in the interview to make it to the list.

Between 2013 and 2017, at least 56 OBC candidates whose parents are PSU employees were either excluded from joining the services or allotted cadres that were not as per their preference. Many among this group of 56 allege that based on their rank and following on the trend of the previous years, they should have simply been allocated a service or a “higher service”.

“When I was studying engineering, I decided that I would prepare for civil services. I did not even sit for the placements. I wanted to give my entire focus to UPSC. But DoPT cheated me and many others like me,” said Ketan.

Apart from the disappointment from the system, the societal pressures too didn’t let the aspirant breathe easy. After the results, relatives started inquiring about his joining details. And he had a tough time explaining the situation and the technicalities involved.

“Since it’s a very technical matter, people would not understand. Some of them thought that we did something wrong. My mother still cries, saying why all this happened to me,” said Ketan.

This whole process was mentally, socially, emotionally, and financially draining for the candidate and many others like him. Lakhs of rupees have been spent so far on the case by the petitioners.

“I have spent more than Rs 10 lakh in an individual capacity in this case. One of the reasons I am staying in Delhi is this case. But there are others like me, with whom I share my pain,” said Ketan, who originally belongs to Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

Thirty-nine-year-old G Babu cleared the UPSC CSE three times (between 2013 and 2016) and never got to join the service because his name was never on the service allocation list. The reason was the same: DoPT said that he does not come under the OBC non-creamy layer category.

Babu joined CISF as an assistant commandant in 2011, and while remaining in this post, he prepared for UPSC and cleared the CSE 2013 with a rank of 629. After seeing his result, he resigned from CISF.

In 2016, I got ranked 337. With such a rank, I would have gotten IAS, but due to DoPT’s failure, I lost the golden opportunity of my life — G. Babu, former UPSC aspirant 

Starting 2009, G. Babu made five consecutive attempts to crack the UPSC exam. In his fifth attempt in 2013, he cleared the exam with general cut-off marks but had written the paper as an OBC candidate. At that time, the General Category used to get only four attempts.

“In 2016, I got ranked 337. With such a rank, I would have gotten IAS, but due to DoPT’s failure, I lost the golden opportunity of my life,” G. Babu told ThePrint. Again, he was not considered an OBC non-creamy layer candidate as it was his seventh attempt.

Babu said he spent a year in depression.

When he cleared the UPSC in 2016, his entire family celebrated. But when he did not join the service, relatives started questioning him.

“It created a lot of stigma. People used to think I didn’t clear the exam, and I lied. I had isolated myself from my social life. People don’t have enough legal awareness to understand what happened to me,” said Babu.

For the likes of Ketan and Babu — who spent years preparing to get the coveted job — court hearings, UPSC results, or cases such as Pooja Khedkar’s become a trigger for the supposed unfairness of the system they are facing.

“People who were less deserving got a chance to join the service and we were denied what was ours and we did a lot of hard work for that,” said Ketan.

Starting 2009, G. Babu made five consecutive attempts to crack the UPSC exam. In his fifth attempt in 2013, he cleared the exam with general cut-off marks but had written the paper as an OBC candidate. At that time, the General Category used to get only four attempts and Babu’s was fifth.

The legality

After going from one office to another, Ketan decided to take this matter to court in 2016. Despite a favourable judgment in one court, his fight hasn’t ended.

“After two years of fighting, I got a favourable judgment from the Delhi High Court in 2018,” he said.

Recently, Ketan took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain what had happened to him.

In 2018, the DoPT appealed against the Delhi High Court verdict in the Supreme Court.

“The DoPT had removed my name from the OBC-NCL list due to their misinterpretation of the rules. Despite dedicating years to this exam, I am now left with no option but to seek justice through the courts,” wrote Ketan.

According to the 1993 Office Memorandum (OM), wards of government employees must pass one of two tests to be classified as part of the OBC creamy layer: either the parent must reach Group A status before age 40, or the parents’ income from non-salary and non-agriculture sources must exceed Rs 8 lakh for three consecutive years

“The next 4 years were equally frustrating. I was not getting anything from anywhere,” wrote Ketan in his thread on X.

According to the 1993 Office Memorandum (OM), wards of government employees must pass one of two tests to be classified as part of the OBC creamy layer: either the parent must reach Group A status before age 40, or the parents’ income from non-salary and non-agriculture sources must exceed Rs 8 lakh for three consecutive years.

For Central and State government employees, group classifications are clear, but for employees in PSUs, PSBs, autonomous offices, universities, etc., these classifications are not defined.

“Thus, the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) decided to apply the income test, incorrectly including salary income,” said Ketan whose father was a PSU employee.

Both the Delhi High Court and Madras High Court have ruled that salary should not be counted when determining OBC creamy layer status, aligning with the original OM, which excludes salary and agricultural income from the income test.

“As per the law, if my father is below group A through direct recruitment or promotion at age 40, then I am eligible for OBC non-creamy layer. My father joined a Public sector bank as a clerk at 27 and had his first promotion at the age of 46. So he was a clerk at the age of 40,” said Ketan.

“We can say that what happened with us is that an entire community of people are being denied the benefits they are entitled to,” said Ketan.

Ketan has been decoding the issue to people for the last eight years now.

“If a parent working in state or central government is not in Group A by direct recruitment or promotion by age 40 and has an income below Rs 8 lakh from non-salary and non-agricultural sources, the individual qualifies for EWS. Salary exceeding Rs 8 lakh is excluded from this calculation, underscoring the distinct criteria for EWS and Creamy Layer classifications,” he added.

‘One decent hearing’

People like Ketan and Babu found each other through common groups and have formed a group of their own on WhatsApp. All the members in this group face the same problem. Everyone’s parents worked in the PSUs. They share common pain and updates about this issue in this group.

Sometime earlier this month, while Ketan was going through his Twitter feed, he encountered a post that immediately filled him with anger. It was about Pooja Khedkar who is now being accused of forging OBC and visual disability certificates.

“I did not believe the tweet, so I googled her. It was true, although it was not a shock to me because I had seen cases like this in the past too. But this case became too big. I was furious after reading about this. It would need a simple check to catch people like her, but DoPT failed in doing that,” said Ketan.

When something like this happens, Ketan and Babu’s WA group buzzes with activity. It gets filled with news links, tweet posts, and sometimes memes.

After 8 years, my case is in the Supreme Court. I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into this fight. It’s not just for me but for everyone who got wronged by the system. I hope justice prevails, said Ketan

“Our case requires just one decent hearing in which we can explain our issue and arguments can take place. We are sure that we will win,” said Ketan.

The next hearing in the Supreme Court is on 22 August.

“After 8 years, my case is in the Supreme Court. I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into this fight. It’s not just for me but for everyone who got wronged by the system. I hope justice prevails,” wrote Ketan in one of his tweets.

Ketan’s wife Bhavika was also a UPSC aspirant, but she is now working with the government as a consultant. She is often the witness of tension on Ketan’s face—whenever the date of a hearing nears. The legal battle has taken a significant toll on both.

“Sometimes I think it would have been really helpful if I was a lawyer,” Bhavika laughed.

(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)