The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former Indian Administrative Service probationer Puja Khedkar, who has been accused of fraudulently clearing the Union Public Service Commission examination, reported Live Law.

“What is the grave crime she [Khedkar] has committed?” PTI quoted a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma as saying.

The bench said that Khedkar was “not a drug lord or a terrorist”, and that she had not committed a murder or was not an offender under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Stating that Khedkar had “lost everything” and would not get a job anywhere, the bench directed the Delhi Police to complete its investigation in the matter, according to the news agency.

On January 15, the bench granted Khedkar protection from arrest while issuing notice on her anticipatory bail petition. It had also sought responses from the Delhi Police and the Union Public Service Commission, which cancelled her candidature in July.

On February 14, the court extended her protection from arrest till March 17. The interim protection was extended on March 18. The court had also turned down a request by the Delhi Police for custodial interrogation to investigate a “larger scam” of fake documents submitted by civil service aspirants.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for the Delhi Police opposed Khedkar’s plea seeking anticipatory bail, saying that she was not cooperating in the investigation and that the allegations against her were serious, PTI reported.

The police also said that by showing fake certificates, she had exceeded the number of attempts in giving the Union Public Service Commission examination, Live Law reported. However, the court rejected the argument.

“Having regard to the nature of offences registered against her and bearing in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, this is a fit case where the [Delhi] High Court ought to have granted the relief of anticipatory bail to the appellant herein,” the bench said.

Granting Khedkar anticipatory bail, the court added: “She shall extend complete cooperation in the ensuing investigation and shall not misuse her liberty and shall not in anyway influence the witnesses or tamper with the material on records.”

The controversy around Khedkar’s selection erupted after Pune-based Right to Information activist Vijay Kumbhar alleged that she had become a civil services officer by availing benefits under the Other Backward Classes quota, which she was not eligible for.

The Delhi Police, in its first information report against the former trainee officer, said that she had defrauded the Union Public Service Commission and the public at large.

The High Court then vacated the protection from arrest that it had granted in August.

The Union government discharged Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service on September 6.