Whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was allegedly persecuted by the previous Congress-led Haryana Government for cancelling the controversial land deal involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and real estate giant DlF, will no longer face charges of “professional misconduct” in the case. Almost two years after the then Congress Government blamed the IAS officer for wrongly cancelling the mutation of the land deal, the Manohar lal Khattar Government has dropped the chargesheet issued against him.
Khemka was chargesheeted in December 2013 by the then Hooda Government, which had accused the 1991-batch IAS officer of misusing his powers by cancelling the sale of 3.5 acres of land in Gurgaon by Vadra’s company Skylight Hospitality to real estate giant DlF for Rs58 crore. The cancellation of the land deal’s mutation was done in October 2012 by Khemka.
Embarrassed by Khemka’s actions and statements, the Hooda Government had set up a three-member committee of IAS officers to look into the issue.
The committee, in its report, had stated that Khemka’s actions amounted to administrative misconduct and exceeding jurisdiction. Following this, a seven-page chargesheet was filed accusing Khemka of six offences, including delayed relinquishing of charge after being transferred from land consolidation department, exceeded jurisdiction with his decision of cancelling the mutation of land deal, issuing erroneous orders, making wrong suggestion, criticising the Government and its policy in the media and violating the rules.
Khemka, currently director-general of the archaeology and museums department, had submitted his reply to the State Government earlier this year. Khemka was also given a personal hearing by incumbent Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar on October 6. The ruling BJP had made the Vadra-DlF land deal a poll issue during last year’s lok Sabha and Haryana Assembly polls.
Speaking on the issue, Haryana Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu on Wednesday said, “Ashok Khemka was not found guilty in the whole issue. It was a long pending issue and has been settled now. The chargesheet against him is dropped.”
Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that it is an administrative decision and the officer was given clean chit in the issue. The Haryana Government’s decision to drop the chargesheet has also been communicated to Khemka. The order for dropping of the chargesheet was issued by the Chief Secretary’s office on Tuesday.
Khemka, who is said to have been transferred 46 times in his career for exposing corruption, had earlier in the day tweeted: “No information from Government on decision in chargesheet issued on 4th Dec 2013. Media story is sweet music to my ears.”
Notably, a Comptroller and Auditor General report released earlier this year had blamed the Congress Government for bending rules to enable windfall gains for Vadra’s company in the land deal. Commenting on the CAG report, Ashok Khemka, had earlier tweeted, “My action in VADRA-DlF land-licence deal vindicated in CAG report, but continue to suffer the stigma of chargesheet.”