Who Is Srushti Deshmukh? The IAS Officer Whose Husband Is Accused Of Taking Rs 10-Crore Bribe

After clearing the UPSC 2018 in her first attempt, IAS officer Srushti Jayant Deshmukh is again in the headlines. The officer’s IAS husband, Dr Nagarjun B Gowda, is facing allegations of corruption.

The 2019-batch IAS officer, who was serving as the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda, is accused of accepting a Rs 10-crore bribe from a mining company in exchange for reducing a Rs 51-crore penalty to just Rs 4,000.

Who Is Srushti Jayant Deshmukh?

Srushti Jayant Deshmukh is a well-known name among UPSC aspirants and enjoys a massive fan base on social media platforms, including 2.2 million Followers on Instagram. Her success story went viral after she secured All India Rank 5 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2018. She was also the top-ranking woman candidate of her batch.

Srushti’s journey continues to inspire countless aspirants, as she began her UPSC preparation while pursuing her Chemical Engineering degree. Born on March 28, 1995, in Bhopal, Srushti grew up in a middle-class family. Her father, Jayant Deshmukh, is an engineer, while her mother, Sunita Deshmukh, worked as a teacher.

She attended Carmel Convent School, Bhopal, where she performed exceptionally well, scoring 8 CGPA in Class 10 and 93.4% in Class 12. She later graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Lakshmi Narain College of Technology, Bhopal.

Srushti began preparing for the civil services during her final year of engineering and went on to clear the UPSC exam in her first attempt. She scored a total of 1068 marks—895 in the Mains and 173 in the Interview. Her marksheet, once shared online, quickly went viral for her remarkable performance and became a source of motivation for aspirants across the country.

Srushti Deshmukh And Nagarjun Gowda Under Spotlight

Gowda, who ranked AIR 418, has also earned recognition for his administrative work. Together, the couple has often been described as a model IAS pair, symbolising commitment to public service. Srushti Deshmukh has also co-authored the book Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude, aimed at guiding future bureaucrats.

RTI activist Anand Jaat has claimed that Gowda exploited legal loopholes to justify the drastic reduction in fines, citing that the company had valid mining permissions over part of the disputed land. Gowda, however, has refuted these claims, stating that the decision was “based on available legal documents” and implemented “in accordance with due process.”