HC stays strictures against Khemka

CHANDIGARH: A division bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Tuesday stayed strictures passed by a single judge bench against IAS officer Ashok Khemka in a case related to appointment of international shooter Vishwajeet Singh as an Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer.

“The HC bench of justice Ajay Tewari and justice Rajesh Bhardwaj passed the order staying portion of a single judge bench judgment as the state government sought more time to file its response,” said Khemka’s lawyer Shreenath K Khemka.

The state’s response has been sought by August 3 while giving “interim relief” to Khemka as per the HC website. In January, a HC judge had decried his role for causing delay in appointment of Vishwajeet Singh as an HCS officer. Vishwajeet is son of former IAS officer Jagdeep Singh. His appointment got delayed on complaint of Khemka in December 2019.

The appointment has now been made after HC intervention in January in which court made remarks against Khemka.

In his plea filed on March 31, Khemka had demanded that strictures passed against him be expunged as he was not associated with the proceedings before court in any manner.

“It is submitted with the greatest respect and in all humility that the impugned strictures are not only absolutely unfounded and perverse but have been passed by the learned single judge in manifest violation of the principles of natural justice and are thus ex facie illegal and liable to be expunged,” he had submitted.

The single judge bench had recorded in its order that the shooter’s appointment got delayed due to an “ill informed perspective which complainant Dr Ashok Khemka entertained regarding the sport of shooting”.

“Even the questions raised by Khemka in his complaint, reflected his utter ignorance about the sports activity and regarding award of medals in shooting,” the court had recorded.

“This was the height of the unfounded self-righteousness. This totally takes away the pretence of acting in public interest and shows that Dr Khemka might have used all these tactics to bring the officers under pressure and to bring the junior officials of the department under fear psychosis, which forced them to continue the tirade against the petitioner in one form or the other,” another remark the judge had made on Khemka’s role.