Punjab and Haryana high court orders Manohar Lal Khattar government to remove ‘adverse’ remarks from Ashok Khemka’s annual confidential report 

Ashok Khemka.

New Delhi: The Punjab and Haryana high court, on Monday, ordered the removal of the “adverse” remarks made by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in his 2016-17 annual confidential report on senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, which hampered the bureaucrat’s promotion.

Khemka, who is presently posted as principal secretary of the Haryana sports department, moved the court for the removal of the chief minister’s in January 2019. The high court had also issued notice for the same to the Haryana government in February on Khemka’s plea, following which the verdict was pronounced in March.

In Khemka’s 2016-17 ACR, the Haryana chief secretary, DS Dhesi, had rated him 8.22 out of 10. The-then state sports minister, Anil Vij, who was Khemka’s reviewing authority, had rated him 9.92 out of 10 for “overall grading on attributes” and had noted “Ashok Khemka has shown excellent achievement under severe constraints.” However, in December 2017, Khattar, who is the appraisal-accepting authority, rated Khemka an “outstanding” 9 out of 10, but noted that Vij’s report on Khemka was “slightly exaggerated”.

Khattar’s this remark would have worked against Khemka and affected his elevation to the next level.

Recently, the Khattar government transferred Khemka, to the science and technology department for expressing concerns on the Aravallis land consolidation, which he said would “fuel the greed of land sharks.”

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