Remove adverse remarks in IAS officer Khemka’s report: High court

CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana hi gh c ourt on Monday ordered expunging of adverse remarks by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in the annual confidential report of IAS officer Ashok Khemka.

Khemka, who is the principal secretary of the state sports department, had moved the c o ur t i n J a nuary s e e ki ng removal from his 2016-17 report the remarks made by Khattar.

The high court restored the rating of 9.92 given to Khemka by health minister Anil Vij.

The CM had downgraded the rating to 9.

“We are of the view that a person of such professional integrity needs to be protected as the professional integrity in our political, social and administrative system is depleting very fast,” the court said while passing the order.

Khemka, who was the topper in computer science and engineering at Iit-kharagpur in 1988 before he joined the civil services, has been transferred at least 45 times in 22 years of his service.

In 2017, a charge sheet against Ashok Khemka pertaining to alleged avoidable loss to Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC) in 2012-13 on account of unsold stocks of wheat seeds was dropped by the Haryana government.

According to the order issued by the state chief secretary D S Dhesi, the charge sheet was dropped after Khemka’s reply was found to be factual and based on official records.