Cross FIRs: Haryana govt declines probe sanction against Khemka, Verma

The FIR against Khemka was registered under Section 13 (criminal misconduct by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 420 (cheating) of IPC at Panchkula’s Sector 5 police station on a reference sent by Verrma.

Ashok Khemka and Sanjeev Verma got FIRs registered against each other on the same day—April 20, 2022. (File Photo)

The Haryana government has declined permission to investigate two separate FIRs lodged against retired IAS officer Ashok Khemka and IAS officer Sanjeev Verma. The FIRs, filed on the same day—April 20, 2022— stemmed from complaints the two officers had made against each other.

Ashok Khemka, a 1991-batch IAS officer, attained superannuation on April 30 this year while Sanjeev Verma, a 2004-batch IAS officer, currently serves as Director General of Haryana Sports Department.

The Haryana Police had previously sought ex-post facto permission to proceed with investigations into both FIRs. However, a senior official in the Haryana government said on Friday that the request for sanction had been denied. Official sources confirmed that Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the competent authority in this case, has approved a related proposal concerning the matter.

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When asked about the reason behind the denial of probe sanction, an official explained, “The fundamental basis for the decision is that under the Prevention of Corruption Act, no case can be registered against an officer without prior government approval. If an FIR is lodged in such matters without prior permission, further proceedings cannot continue. In this case, both FIRs were filed without the government’s approval.”

The officer added, “This means that both FIRs will not be pursued any further.”

The FIR against Khemka was registered under Section 13 (criminal misconduct by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 420 (cheating) of IPC at Panchkula’s Sector 5 police station on a reference sent by Verrma. Verma, in his reference, had alleged irregularities in the recruitment of two manager Grade-I officials (a class-III post) in the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) in 2010. Both the officials, Pradip Kumar and Surinder Singh were dismissed from service by Verma on April 20, 2020.

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An hour after it booked Khemka and three others, the Panchkula Police registered another FIR — on charges of criminal conspiracy and fabrication of official documents — against Verma on the former’s complaint. The FIR against Verma was lodged after an unprecedented development in which the then state Home Minister Anil Vij had accompanied Khemka to Panchkula deputy police commissioner’s office to complain against Verma.