Gurgaon land deal: Vadra's name cleared, Haryana turns to Khemka for explanation

IAS officer asked to respond on report alleging irregularities in sale cancellation

On the heels of giving a clean chit to Robert Vadra in his controversial Gurgaon land deal with realty major DLF, the Haryana government has sought an explanation from IAS officer Ashok Khemka for alleged irregularities in cancelling the deal.

In October, Khemka, the then director-general of consolidation of holdings and land records-cum-inspector general of registration, had ordered cancellation of the mutation of the sale deed of a piece of land in Gurgaon's Shikopur village. Mutation involves a change in the title records to incorporate the name of the buyer.

Vadra's Sky Light Hospitality had entered into the agreement with realty giant DLF for sale of the 3.5 acres. The government had set up a three-member panel, headed by additional chief secretary Krishna Mohan, to examine the deal and its subsequent cancellation.

The panel, which gave its report last week, found several irregularities in the manner in which Khemka ordered the cancellation. According to people close to the development, Khemka has been asked for his comments on the report. “The panel has raised issues such as not following the principles of natural justice in the cancellation and several other administrative irregularities. The responses have to come in a month," one of the people said.

The committee had absolved Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law of any wrongdoing in the deals. After examining sale and purchase of properties, grant of letter of intent/licence, change of land use, undervaluation of properties, etc, the report concluded that Khemka had acted beyond his authority in cancelling the mutation.

According to reports, the factual position in the case is different from the stand taken by Khemka. The committee held that Khemka might have misused the revisionary powers of the state government. It said Khemka applied his powers from the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1883, under which he had no authority to act.

The IAS officer is also found on the wrong foot for cancelling the mutation on October 15, 2012, an "administratively improper" step since he stood transferred as managing director of the Haryana Seeds Development Corp four days earlier and also for being allegedly selective in singling out a particular mutation.

It observed that under transfer, Khemka should not have passed an important quasi judicial order cancelling the mutation on October 15.

In October, when the charges of irregularities in Vadra’s land deals were put before the media by Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, Khemka had also asked the deputy commissioners (DCs) of the four districts of Gurgaon, Palwal, Faridabad and Mewat to "inspect all documents registered from 2005 on behalf of Vadra or his companies in the capacity of vendor (seller) and vendee (buyer)."

In October, the four DCs had also given a clean chit on Vadra deals.