Whistleblower IAS officer asks PMO for compensation for delaying information sought under RTI

Daily Bhaskar: Chandigarh: Thursday, April 17, 2014.

Haryana's whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka who rose to prominence for daring Congress President’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra’s  land deals, has now demanded compensation from the Prime Minister's Office for delaying information he had sought under the Right to Information Act.  

In an application on September 24, 2013, Khemka had asked for a copy of the letter that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had written to the Prime Minister requesting him to intervene in the case of another harassed IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh, Durga Shakti Nagpal. Khemka has approached the Central Information Commission for relief after not getting a reply for over six months.  

Khemka in his appeal stated, "The information sought is vital to prepare my defence/reply to a charge sheet issued to me by the Haryana government. The motive for issuing the charge sheet is to determinate my service for exposing the racket and public loot in land releases and commercial colony land licenses to their cronies and in this particular case to a company of Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, by topmost public servants working in Haryana."

Khemka has pleaded for compensation for the delay causing him loss to his service career, reputation and mental peace. After not getting any reply on his initial application, Khemka had moved an appeal before the appellate authority of the PMO, which was rejected on December 30, 2013 on the grounds that the matter related to approval by the Cabinet and could not be provided under the RTI Act.  

In his appeal, the IAS officer has stated that the UPA chairperson's letter was all over the media in August 2013 and is not covered under the exemptions of RTI. He wants a certified copy from the PMO to strengthen his case.

A 2009 batch IAS officer, Nagpal had taken on illegal sand-mining mafia as sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. She was suspended on July 27, 2013 by the Akhilesh Yadav government allegedly for demolishing the wall of a mosque.  

In her letter Sonia Gandhi had said, "We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated. At the same time, this particular instance has highlighted the need to assess whether there are adequate safeguards in place to protect executive functionaries working beyond the average call of duty to uphold the rule of law."

Nagpal's suspension had created a major controversy as it had come immediately after the Vadra scam with the Samajwadi Party even asking Sonia why she had not intervened in the Vadra affair.