E-Paper
Jammu and Kashmir administration fails to submit status report in multi-crore arms licence scam again
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has failed to submit a status report on the arms licence scam involving IAS officers despite court directives. The scam involves the illegal issuance of arms licenses to non-residents on forged documents. The administration has been granted multiple opportunities to file the report but has not done so. The case will be re-notified on November 6. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating the case.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has yet again failed to submit a status report in the much-publicised arms licence scam, allegedly involving IAS officers, despite clear directives by a division bench (DB) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court (HC) comprising chief justice N Kotiswar Singh and justice Puneet Gupta.
On August 21, the DB headed by the chief justice N Kotiswar Singh had expressed “concern and surprise over the non-filing of the latest status report with regard to two CBI first information reports (FIR)”.
Subsequently, the DB had granted two weeks time to the Jammy and Kashmir administration to file a status report on the two FIRs vis-à-vis sanction, which had to be accorded by the administration.
However, on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration again failed to produce the status report exhibiting lackadaisical approach in granting prosecution sanction involving senior bureaucrats.
The general administration department (GAD) has failed to place before the court the current status of two CBI cases (bearing FIR numbers RCCHG051201850006 and RCCHG05120185007 of the arms licence scam).
On June 1, the division bench comprising chief justice N. Kotiswar Singh and justice Puneet Gupta had directed senior additional advocate general SS Nanda, who appeared for the government of Jammu and Kashmir, to file a status report as regards aforesaid two CBI FIR’s before the next date of hearing, i.e., July 26.
However, the needful was not done and the Division Bench on August 21, had reluctantly allowed two weeks further time to the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
On September 18, the administration, yet again, did not come up with the status report before the division bench.
Despite the opportunities granted by division bench on two consecutive hearings, the GAD has failed to file the latest status of the two CBI FIR’s wherein CBI has prima facie found the involvement of several IAS officers in the scam.
It may be recalled here that the department of personnel and training (DoPT), government of India had in April 2021 returned a prosecution proposal to the Jammu and Kashmir administration against IAS officers involved in the scam because of several deficiencies in it.
The DoPT had asked the J&K government to remove the deficiencies and resubmit the proposal of prosecution sanction through a single window system as per the new guidelines.
In this context deputy solicitor general of India, Vishal Sharma placed on record various communications showing several reminders to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to expedite submission of the rectified prosecution sanction proposal.
He further submitted that the ball was in the administration’s court of and the needful has to be done by it. It may be stated herein that the Jammu and Kashmir administration has already granted prosecution sanction against the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir administrative services (JKAS) allegedly involved in the scam but has been dragging its feet in case of IAS officers.
Since June this year, the administration has failed to comply with the directions of the division bench.
The division bench now directed the registry to re-notify the PIL on November 6.
In July 2021, the CBI had simultaneously raided multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi in connection with a probe into the illegal arms licence case.
The CBI had registered a case following the consent of Jammu and Kashmir administration and further notification from the central government in 2018.
A huge arms licence scam allegedly involving deputy magistrates was unearthed by the ATS Rajasthan in 2017. It was being probed by the J&K police before CBI was handed over the case by the then governor NN Vohra in 2018.
Arms licences in bulk were allegedly issued by the then deputy magistrates in Jammu and Kashmir to non-residents on forged documents.
Between 2012 and 2016, deputy commissioners of various districts in Jammu and Kashmir had fraudulently and illegally issued bulk arms licences in lieu of monetary consideration.
In December 2019 too, CBI had carried out searches at over a dozen locations in Srinagar, Jammu, Gurgaon and Noida on the premises of the then deputy magistrates of Kupwara, Baramulla, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Shopian, Rajouri, Doda, Pulwama, and several other places.
The Rajasthan ATS in 2017 had arrested over 50 people for their alleged involvement in the illegal issuance of arms licences. According to the ATS, over 3,000 permits were granted allegedly in the name of Army personnel.
CBI had registered two cases on the request of Jammu and Kashmir administration and further notification from Government of India, and taken over the investigation of two FIRs (number 18 of 2018 dated May 17, 2018 earlier registered at Police Station Vigilance Organisation Kashmir (VOK) and FIR number 11 of 2018 dated May 17, 2018 of Police Station Vigilance Organisation Jammu (VOJ) on the allegations of bulk issuance of arms licences in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir during the period 2012 to 2016.
It was alleged that more than 2.78 lakh arms licences were issued to the non-entitled persons. CBI also collected documents pertaining to the issuance of said armed licences allegedly spread over 22 districts of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
