Punjab and Haryana high court stays Khemka’s arrest in Panchkula case
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday stayed the arrest of senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka in a case registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Panchkula.
Also read: Give security charge back to SSP Manisha Chaudhary: Haryana to Chandigarh admn
The high court bench of justice Avneesh Jhingan passed the order on Khemka’s plea.
Though the detailed order is awaited, his lawyer Arshdeep Singh Cheema said, “Acting on the plea, the high court has issued notice of motion and stayed his arrest.”
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Sanjeev Verma, the managing director of the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC), on April 26 at the Sector-5 police station in Panchkula.
The allegations are of making appointments at HSWC in an illegal and arbitrary manner when Khemka served as its MD.
The plea says other members of the screening committee who selected candidates were left out and only the petitioner was roped in as accused. The FIR was registered without the approval of the competent authority under Section 17-A of PC Act, 1988, which is a statutory requirement of protection given to a public servant. Allegations in the FIR, even if taken to true did not constitute offence under any penal provision, especially when issuance of appointments by the petitioner was merely a follow-up ministerial act, pursuant to the selection finalised by the executive committee, the plea said.
It argues that same set of allegations have been inquired into by the police in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and no cognizable or any other offence was concluded to be found out.
“The timing of the extremely vexatious complaint on April 11 for 12-year-old allegations, immediately upon Verma’s appointment as HSWC MD on April 8 and vindictiveness of his action towards maligning the petitioner’s reputation by misusing official position as MD, warrants immediate indulgence of high court,” it was stated.
Verma, too, was booked on Khemka’s complaint. The criminal case against him has been registered under the sections pertaining to a public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury, threatening any person to give false evidence, using as true a certificate known to be false, and criminal conspiracy.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Invite sportspersons to PM Modi’s programme: Yogi
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday instructed the officials to invite prominent sports personalities to the programme to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his constituency at Dr Sampoornanand Sports Stadium, Sigra, on July 7. Yogi reviewed the preparations for PM's Varanasi tour starting July 7. He instructed the officials to do micro-level planning and make elaborate security arrangements. The chief minister offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
-
CM stays district development plans in state till guardian ministers are appointed
Days after taking charge, chief minister Eknath Shinde has stayed plans for district planning and development committees (DPDC) in the state till new guardian ministers are appointed. The decision came after the Shiv Sena members and MLAs loyal to Shinde alleged that the proposed outlay decided previously by guardian ministers under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government favoured constituencies represented by the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress legislators.
-
North Central Railway registers 21.3% growth in originating freight loading
At the end of the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, North Central Railway has registered a 21.3% growth in originating freight loading. NCR loaded 5.24 million tonnes of cargo from April-June 2022 surpassing all previous records. Freight loading of 4.32 million tonnes was achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year, informed chief public relations officer of NCR Shivam Sharma.
-
Maharashtra cyber cell identifies ‘17 social media trends’ related to Nupur Sharma in last 4 days
PUNE The Maharashtra cyber police are on alert in the wake of the killing of a pharmacist in Amravati and tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur over their support to suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, Nupur Sharma. The state cyber police have identified 17 trends related to Sharma in the last four days, out of which action has been taken against three.
-
PMC continues digging roads for 24/7 water supply project despite rains
PUNE Towards completion of its ambitious 24 x 7 water supply project, the Pune Municipal Corporation is continuing to aggressively dig roads despite the monsoon. The residents of Kalyani nagar have been greatly inconvenienced by the dug-up trenches in lane numbers 6 and 7 for the past 10 days. On Sunday, they received a message from the local corporator, Yogesh Mulick, updating and assuring them that these hurdles are temporary.
