Haryana drops chargesheet against Khemka over Vadra deals

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government on Wednesday dropped a chargesheet against senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka, a huge relief for the whistleblower officer who was facing disciplinary proceedings in connection with his cancellation of a controversial land deal by Robert Vadra.

The decision that cleared the decks for Khemka’s promotion to the rank of principal secretary next year came after chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar heard out the IAS officer’s complaints last month. Chief secretary DS Dhesi will issue a formal order scrapping the major penalty chargesheet soon.

The 1991-batch IAS officer was chargesheeted in September 2013 during the previous Congress regime for allegedly overstepping jurisdiction while junking the mutation of 3.5 acres of Gurgaon land sold by Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra to realty giant DLF.

The IIT graduate hit the headlines three years ago when he publicly questioned the R58 crore deal and criticised the then Congressrun administration’s policies. He was transferred soon after and given a slew of low-profile assignments, triggering allegations from the BJP that he was being targeted for uncovering corruption.

The officer, who has been transferred 46 times in his 23-year-long career, has also spoken out on social media to express his “pain” for being repeatedly shunted out for trying to “address corruption and bring reforms despite severe limitations and entrenched interests”.

Earlier this year, Khemka submitted a statement of defence to the state government and expressed willingness to be heard in person by the CM, who is the authority in disciplinary matters pertaining to IAS officers. The chargesheet against Khemka could have resulted anything between a reduction in pay-scale to dismissal of service.

In 2012, Khemka ordered an inquiry into alleged undervaluation of assets owned by Vadra or his companies in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal and Mewat districts, and set aside the mutation of 3.5 acres of land.

The state government said this passing of orders — a day after he was transferred from the post of director general, consolidation of holdings, and inspector general, registration — constituted administrative misconduct. A panel formed by then government termed Khemka’s orders inappropriate and without jurisdiction. He was also held liable for his public criticism of the actions and policies of the state government.

In a 2013 response, Khemka leveled serious allegations against two committee members and termed the sale of the 3.5 acres from Onkareshwar Properties to Vadra’s company Sky Light Hospitality a “sham transaction”.