E-Paper
IAS officers at loggerheads: Haryana orders fact-finding probe into cross-complaints
The two IAS officers have been at loggerheads with each other since April 2022. It all started when Verma as the then managing director of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) submitted a complaint to the police for registration of a first information report (FIR) against his senior IAS colleague, Ashok Khemka and three others for allegedly making appointments in HSWC in an illegal and arbitrary manner.
The Haryana government has appointed financial commissioner, revenue, TVSN Prasad to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into a series of complaints made by 1991-batch IAS officer Ashok Khemka and his IAS colleague, Sanjeev Verma of 2004 batch against each other. Prasad, who also holds the charge of additional chief secretary, home, will examine the bunch of complaints sent by the two officers to the state government.
The two civil servants have been at loggerheads with each other since April 2022. It all started when Verma as the then managing director of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) submitted a complaint to the police for registration of a first information report (FIR) against his senior IAS colleague, Ashok Khemka and three others for allegedly making appointments in HSWC in an illegal and arbitrary manner.
Khemka, an ACS-rank officer, then got an FIR registered against Verma for making a false charge of offence and framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury. Both the FIRs were registered on April 26, 2022. Provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act were invoked in both the FIRs.
However, both the FIRs are in state of dormancy due to the non-fulfillment of statutory requirement by the police of taking prior approval under section 17-A of the PC Act before the registration of an FIR.
Complaints and counter-complaints
A series of complaints and counter-complaints have been submitted by the two civil servants against each other since then. Officials said that since the complaints at both ends needed to be examined, it was decided that an IAS officer of appropriate seniority should be appointed to conduct a fact-finding inquiry. Prasad, a 1988-batch IAS officer, is the senior most officer in the cadre after the chief secretary.
The complaints made by Khemka against Sanjeev Verma pertained to the latter’s own appointment in the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) on compassionate grounds, appointments in the archives department under the outsourcing policy, trying to drag the name of a lawmaker holding a constitutional post in the oustees quota plots case, misuse of official vehicle and stationery.
Verma on the other hand has made complaints against Khemka pertaining to appointments made in the Haryana Space Application Research Centre, HSWC recruitment and the appointment of a deputy director-rank official in the archaeology and museums department.
On April 26 last year, Verma was booked by the Panchkula police under sections 167, 182, 195-A, 198, 211, 218, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sector 5 police station following a complaint by Khemka and subsequent intervention of home minister Anil Vij. The IPC sections invoked in the FIR against Verma and one Ravinder Kumar pertained to public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury, threatening any person to give false evidence, false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person, using as true a certificate known to be false, making a false charge of offence with intent to injure, public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture and criminal conspiracy. Provisions of the PC Act were invoked subsequently by the cops.
ACS rank IAS officer, Ashok Khemka, a former HSWC manager, Som Nath, former assistant manager, SC Kansal and former assistant Naresh Kumar were also booked the same day (April 26, 2022) under section 420 of the IPC for cheating and section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (criminal misconduct by a public servant) on Verma’s complaint.
