The Haryana government has designated Senior IAS officer TVSN Prasad (IAS:1988:HY) to conduct an in-depth inquiry into a series of grievances exchanged between IAS officer Ashok Khemka (IAS:1991:HY) and his IAS colleague, Sanjeev Verma (IAS:2004:HY). Prasad, serving as the Financial Commissioner of Revenue with an additional charge of Additional Chief Secretary, home, will scrutinize a multitude of complaints submitted by both officers to the state government.
The discord between the two civil servants dates back to April 2022. The dispute originated when Verma, then Managing Director of Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC), filed a complaint with the police, seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against his senior colleague, Ashok Khemka, and three others. The complaint alleged that appointments in HSWC were made in an illegal and arbitrary manner.
In response, ACS rank Ashok Khemka lodged an FIR against Sanjeev Verma, accusing him of making false charges and framing an inaccurate document with the intent to cause harm. Both FIRs were filed on April 26, 2022, invoking provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. However, the FIRs remain dormant due to the police’s failure to fulfill the statutory requirement of obtaining prior approval under section 17-A of the PC Act before registering an FIR.
Since then, a series of complaints and counter-complaints have been filed by the two civil servants. Recognizing the need to investigate the complaints from both parties, it was decided to appoint an IAS officer of appropriate seniority to conduct a comprehensive fact-finding inquiry. Hence, Prasad, the most senior officer in the cadre after the Chief Secretary, has been entrusted with this responsibility.
Khemka’s complaints against Sanjeev Verma encompass various issues, including Verma’s appointment in the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) on compassionate grounds, appointments in the archives department under the outsourcing policy, attempts to implicate a lawmaker holding a constitutional post in the oustees quota plots case, and misuse of official vehicle and stationery.
In contrast, Verma has lodged complaints against Khemka concerning appointments in the Haryana Space Application Research Centre, HSWC recruitment, and the appointment of a deputy director-rank official in the archaeology and museums department.
