Devyani Khobragade

Devyani Khobragade is a central civil servant of Indian Foreign Service cadre. She was in the news after being charged with visa fraud when she was posted in the Indian Consul in New York City in the United States. She is currently serving as ambassador of India to Cambodia at Embassy of India, Phnom Penh.[2]

Devyani Khobragade
Born
Tarapur, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationCentral Civil Servant of Indian Foreign Service cadre
Years active1999–present
EmployerGovernment of India
OrganizationMinistry of External Affairs (India)
SpouseAakash Singh Rathore
ChildrenAmaya Singh Khobragade, Shaira Singh Khobragade
ParentUttam Khobragade (father)[1]

Early life

Khobragade was born in Tarapur, Maharashtra, in a Buddhist family from Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.[3][4] Khobragade's father, Uttam Khobragade, was an officer in the Indian Administrative Service.[3] He was also implicated in a number of corruption scandals.[5][6][7]

She attended Mount Carmel High School in Mumbai. She obtained a degree in medicine from King Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College.[8]

Career

Khobragade joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1999. In 2012, she was posted to the Consulate General of India in New York where she worked as Deputy Consul General till December 2013. She handled women's affairs as well as political and economic issues.[3] As acting Consul General, she provided her personal perspective on Women's Rights and the Influence of Demographics in India at the Australian Consulate-General in New York in April 2013.[9]

On 20 January 2014 she was posted to New Delhi as director of the Development Partnership Administration (DPA), an agency formed in 2013 at the Ministry of External Affairs to handle India's projects overseas.[10] In December 2014 the Ministry of External Affairs removed her from this post and placed her on "compulsory wait".[11] In July 2015 she was reinstated as a director in the Ministry of External Affairs, this time in its State Governments division.[12][13] She chose to work with Kerala, aiming to promote its interests overseas in areas like investment, culture, tourism and the well-being of its large diaspora in the Gulf countries.[14]

Khobragade was selected for the Chevening Rolls-Royce scholarship in 2012.[15]

She was appointed Ambassador to Cambodia on 2 October 2020.[16]

Personal life

Khobragade is married to an American citizen, New York-born Dr. Aakash Singh Rathore, who is research professor at University of Luiss, Rome, Italy.[17][18][19][20][21] Since Rathore is a foreign national married to an Indian diplomat, he has applied for Indian citizenship which has not yet been granted since he has not completed the required domicile period in India.[22]

The couple have two daughters, who were ages 7 and 4 in 2013.[3] Khobragade's father, Uttam, was an officer in the Indian Administrative Service.[3]

Controversies

Besides the Devyani Khobragade incident, her name is mostly in news with her father Uttam Khobragade for Adarsh Housing Society scam.

United States visa fraud
See also: Devyani Khobragade incident

On 12 December 2013, Devyani Khobragade, India's Deputy Consul General at its diplomatic mission in New York City at that time, was arrested on charges of visa fraud and perjury under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546.[23] This incident led to a major diplomatic standoff between India and the United States.[24]

Adarsh Housing Society scam
See also: Adarsh Housing Society scam

Devyani Khobragade and her father Uttam Khobragade owned a flat in the Adarsh Housing Society.[25] A government investigation and subsequent media coverage described false statements that she made to acquire the flat, as part of the Adarsh Housing Society scam.[26][27][28][29]

Undue favours in her postings

There is a clear finding by the Supreme Court of India that Ms. Devyani Khobragade was given a posting of her choice in the Indian Foreign Service by bending and modifying the specific rules of allocation for the specific year of 1999 where she was ranked lower than a meritorious batch mate of hers, Mr. Mahaveer C Singhvi.[30][31][32][33] The finding appears in the judgment of the Supreme Court of India in a case filed by the victim batch mate against the vendetta activities of the Ministry of External Affairs effecting his service in the case of Union of India v Mahaveer C Singhvi. The Supreme Court of India in its Judgment stated "The mode of allotment was amended for the 1999 Batch in such a calculated fashion that Ms. Khobragade, who was at Serial No.7, was given her choice of German over and above the Respondent who was graded at two stages above her."[30]

Children's Dual Citizenship

After her return to India in December 2013, Devyani Khobragade was asked to deposit her children's passports with the Ministry of External Affairs. It was at this time Khobragade revealed that her children had passports from two countries, India and the United States.[22] The ministry instated a panel headed by the Ministry's Joint Secretary of Cypher, NGO and Vigilance (CNV), A.K. Chatterjee to determine whether she had violated Central Civil Services Conduct rules. After a nine-month enquiry, the panel ruled against her and found her guilty of "serious misconduct".[34] In another administrative action, the ministry revoked the children's Indian passports.[34] Khobragade filed a petition in Delhi High Court against this action, arguing that though Indian law forbids dual citizenship, it is permitted for minors.[35] Legal opinion holds that though minors are allowed to hold dual citizenship once they reach the age of majority (18 years), they have 6 months in which to decide which citizenship to go with.[36] If they fail to make the decision within that timeframe, they automatically lose Indian citizenship. It is unclear, however, whether it is legal for minors to hold both a foreign passport and an Indian passport.[37] In May 2015, Justice Shakdher of the Delhi High Court put a hold on revoking the passports and asked the Ministry of External Affairs to explain to the court why it took this administrative action.[38]

In a legal response to the Delhi High Court, the Ministry of External Affairs claimed that Khobragade obtained these passports for her children in violation of Indian law and without informing the ministry, thus raising questions about her "trustworthiness and integrity".[39][40] The ministry claimed that Khobragade obtained Indian diplomatic passports for her daughters by "suppressing material facts" which established that she "wilfully and blatantly violated the Indian Passport Act".[41] The ministry rejected Khobragade's petition for dual citizenship on the grounds that it is only applicable to those children who were born outside India. As Khobragade's children were born in India they do not qualify for dual citizenship.[42] By acquiring US passports, the children had acquired US citizenship and would require a visa to travel to India, which the ministry would be willing to grant should the need arise.[43][44]

Other

In 2016, she published a book, The White Sari.[45]

References
  1. "Father meets Shinde". Zee News. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. "Welcome to Embassy of India, Phnom Penh, Cambodia". embindpp.gov.in. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  3. Gowen, Annie (20 December 2013). "Who is Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat at the center of the firestorm?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. Khobragade, Uttam (13 January 2014). "My daughter's return". NDTV. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  5. "ACB books Bhujbal son for land fraud | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  6. "Adarsh Scam: Revoke membership of 22 flat owners, CBI tells government again". The Indian Express. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. "Sweltering summer just got worse - Mumbai Mirror -". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  8. "Who is Devyani Khobragade?". The Times of India. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  9. "Acting Consul General of India in New York, Dr Devyani Khobragade Holds Conversation on Women's Rights and the Influence of Demographics in India with New York Young Leaders' Program". Australian Consulate-General, New York. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  10. Roy, Shubhajit (20 January 2014). "Devyani likely to head MEA's overseas projects department". Indian Express. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  11. "Government takes disciplinary, administrative action against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade". Press Trust of India. Daily News and Analysis. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  12. "Devyani Khobragade reinstated as director in MEA". Indo Asian News Service. Zee News. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  13. Smriti Kak Ramachandran (3 July 2015). "Khobragade reinstated in new division". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  14. "Back from the wilderness, Devyani to serve God's own country". Times News Network. Times of India. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  15. "Devyani Khobragade, 2012 Rolls-Royce Scholar, Chevening Rolls-Royce Science and Innovation Leadership Programme". UK Government, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  16. "Devyani Khobragade Appointed India's Next Ambassador To Cambodia". NDTV. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  17. "More skeletons tumble out of Devyani Khobragade's cupboard". Firstpost.com. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  18. "2014 Sydney International Wine Competition". Winemedia.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  19. "Devyani case resolution complicated by marriage to US-born 'wine philosopher'". The Times of India. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  20. "The Complete Indian Wine Guide Review". Indianwine.com. 20 May 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  21. Keith Stewart (5 July 2013). "Sydney International Competition entries open". Winetech. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  22. Roy, Shubhajit (13 March 2014). "Trouble for Devyani Khobragade as govt finds daughters have both US, Indian passports". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  23. "Who is Devyani Khobragade?". The Times of India. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  24. Rajeev Sharma (17 December 2013). "The US has gone overboard against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade". Firstpost. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  25. "Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade owned flat in Adarsh society". Financial Express. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  26. Shibu Thomas (6 July 2012). "IFS officer admits owning two flats on 'govt land'". Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  27. Sanjay Jog (4 January 2014). "Adarsh scam: How politicians, their kin and officials became members by flouting norms". Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  28. "Devyani Khobragade made false statement to get Adarsh flat: Panel". Times of India. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  29. Saikat Datta, Shailesh Gaikwad (21 December 2013). "Did Devyani lie in her assets affidavit to Centre?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  30. "MEA 'bent' rules to favour Devyani Khobragade". The Times of India. 22 December 2013. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  31. BV Rao (19 December 2013). "SC ruling and why Mayawati is wrong on Devyani". Governance Now. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  32. J. Venkatesan (5 August 2010). "IFS probationer can't be sacked without inquiry". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  33. Rakesh Bhatnagar (30 July 2010). "Supreme Court restores job, benefits to IFS officer". DNA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  34. Suhasini Haidar (21 December 2014). "Devyani penalised for children's US passports". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  35. Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury (12 May 2014). "Devyani Khobragade's kids eligible for dual citizenship: Ministry of Home Affairs". ET Bureau. Economic Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  36. Devyani Khobragade (24 July 2015). "It was my moral and legal duty to challenge wrong done to my kids". Times of India. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  37. Cyrus Mehta (17 December 2004). "Dual Citizenship For Children Born In The US To Indian Parents".
  38. "HC stays order to revoke passports of Devyani Khobragade's kids". Times News Network. Times of India. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  39. "MEA to Delhi HC: Devyani Khobragade hid the fact that her daughters had US passports". Press Trust of India. Daily News and Analysis. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  40. Devirupa Mitra (20 July 2015). "In Affidavit to High Court, MEA Raises Questions About Devyani Khobragade's Integrity". Express News Service. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  41. "Devyani Khobragade broke rules and hid facts, MEA tells high court". Hindustan Times. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  42. "MHA Rejects Khobragade's Petition of Dual Citizenship for Kids". Press Trust of India. Outlook India. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  43. "No dual citizenship for Devyani Khobragade's children". The Hindu. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  44. Sandip Roy (22 July 2015). "Pick symbols of national pride carefully: What (mis)adventures of Khobragade taught India". First Post. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  45. "Controversial diplomat Devyani Khobragade writes her first book 'The White Sari'". Indian Express. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
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