E-Paper
Arms licence scam: J&K high court expresses concern over delay in prosecution sanction
Advocate general DC Raina appearing for the J&K government submitted before the division bench that he will report instructions in the matter on Friday
A division bench of the J&K and Ladakh high court comprising chief justice N Kotiswar Singh and justice Puneet Gupta on Thursday expressed its concern over delay on the part of the J&K government in forwarding proposal for grant of prosecution sanction with regard to IAS officers allegedly involved in the infamous arms licence scam.
While hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) titled Sheikh Mohammad Shafi and another vs Union of India and others, the division bench expressed its concern.
It may be stated here that the CBI has sought prosecution sanction of IAS officers in two FIRs.
Advocate general DC Raina appearing for the J&K government submitted before the division bench that he will report instructions in the matter on Friday.
Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the J&K government was sheilding the IAS officers involved in the arms licence scam.
He also submitted that the general administration department (GAD) was sitting over the matter after department of personnel and training (DoPT), government of India, had returned the proposal in June 2021 to J&K to remove the defects in the file in order to facilitate DoPT to proceed further in the matter.
Advocate SS Ahmed vehemently argued that since June 2021, there was no headway in the matter and the government of J&K was “ex-facie delaying the matter to shield the blue-eyed IAS officers against whom CBI has prima facie made out a case”.
At this stage, advocate general DC Raina in the open court assured the division bench that he will report instructions in the matter on Friday and will also file response in the matter.
Deputy solicitor general of India (DSGI) Vishal Sharma appeared for Union of India.
Accordingly, division bench directed the registry to re-notify the PIL for Friday.
It may be recalled here that in July 2021, the CBI had simultaneously raided multiple locations in J&K and Delhi in connection with a probe into an alleged illegal arms license case.
The CBI had registered a case following the consent of Jammu and Kashmir government and further notification from the Central government in 2018.
A huge arms licence scam allegedly involving deputy magistrates was unearthed by the Rajasthan ATS in 2017.
It was being probed by the J&K police before the CBI was handed over the case by the then governor NN Vohra.
Arms licences in bulk were allegedly issued by the then deputy magistrates in J&K to non-residents on forged documents.
Between 2012 and 2016, deputy commissioners of various districts in J&K 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 J&K government 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 licenses in the erstwhile State of J&K 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 J&K.
