Robert Vadra land deal: Haryana Govt drops charges against IAS officer Ashok

The Haryana govt has dropped the charge sheet against Ashok Khemka issued to him in December 2013 after he ordered the cancellation of a land deal mutation between Robert Vadra and DLF. He was also given a personal hearing by the incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on October 6.

The chargesheet was signed by former Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Chaudhery after getting an approval from the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who approved action against Khemka under Rule 8 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules. Khemka was transferred from the land consolidation department on October 11, 2012.

Khemka had submitted his reply to the chargesheet to the BJP government in Haryana earlier this year. However, he relinquished charge on October 15.

Khemka’s 105-page reply to the committee’s report, in which he highlighted various other land scams and sham deals and companies associated with Vadra and other influential people, was not accepted by the Haryana government.

He was chargesheeted for this very act, as the government felt that his action damaged the reputation of Robert Vadra and the realty firm, DLF. Mr Khemka was then removed as Transport Commissioner and shifted to the low profile Archaeology and Museums Department, the same department to which the previous Congress government had moved him. Further, he passed the order without giving any opportunity of being heard to the party concerned.

At that time, Khemka, who had blown the lid off from the controversial multi-million-rupee land deals of Vadra, was touted to get an important assignment.

Khemka was also alleged to have gone to the media after cancelling the mutation in Vadra- DLF land deal criticising the policies of the government. The BJP had made the Vadra land deal a poll issue during the polls of Lok Sabha and Haryana assembly during 2014.