Harish Dogra back, given show-cause notice

After defying recall order for some four months, Harish Kumar Dogra, who was removed as Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand...

After defying recall order for some four months, Harish Kumar Dogra, who was removed as Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand, has returned home and the government has initiated disciplinary action against him.

The Secretary-rank diplomat returned last week, more than two months after the government withdrew his accreditation as envoy to Wellington in the face of his defiance, sources said.

Soon after he returned with his wife Neeta, the External Affairs Ministry issued a show-cause notice asking him to explain why action should not be taken against him for going public with regard to his recall issue, the sources said.

Dogra, who was recalled in the first week of March following some allegations against him, had refused to obey the order and in turn attacked Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran for the move. Accusing Saran of committing ‘‘impropriety’’ by recalling him, the diplomat demanded that the Foreign Secretary prove charges against him or resign. He had said he would not return till Saran retires in September-end this year.

After his accreditation was withdrawn, the envoy handed over charge to his deputy in April this year and proceeded on leave. He had applied for a regular visa to stay in New Zealand but that too was denied. The government, last month, revoked his passport along with that of his wife and domestic servant in an effort to ensure that he returned to India.