Fraud Alert
J&K Arms License Scam: HC Pressures MHA for Final Call on IAS Officers’ Prosecution
Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the Union Home Ministry to submit a status report on the prosecution sanction of three IAS officers allegedly involved in the infamous arms license scam. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Chowdhary, has asked the ministry to convey its final decision before the next hearing scheduled for March 20.
The case, being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), involves the alleged issuance of arms licenses in exchange for monetary gains. According to a CBI report dated December 31 last year, approximately 1.53 lakh arms licenses were issued between 2012 and 2016 in 10 districts of Jammu, and around 1.21 lakh in 12 districts of the then Kashmir division.
The three IAS officers in question are Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Niraj Kumar, and Yasha Mudgal, all of whom served as district magistrates in Udhampur during the alleged scam. The government of J&K had forwarded their prosecution sanction request to the Home Ministry on December 27 last year.
The division bench also noted that the CBI had sought prosecution sanction against eight IAS officers, but the J&K government had only forwarded three names. The other officers under CBI scrutiny include Rajeev Ranjan (then DM Kupwara), Prasanna Ramaswamy G (then DM Leh), M Raju (then DM Kargil), Jitendra Kumar Singh (then DM Rajouri), and Ramesh Kumar (then DM Kathua).
During the hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, representing the petitioners in the PIL Sheikh Mohammad Shafi & Anr. v. Union of India & Others, argued that both the Home Ministry and the J&K government were deliberately delaying the prosecution process to shield high-profile officials. He pointed out that despite the CBI’s in-depth investigation establishing a prima facie case, the Home Ministry had failed to act on the UT administration’s recommendations sent on December 27, 2023.
Earlier, on November 28 last year, the Home Ministry had granted prosecution sanction against Rajeev Ranjan, currently posted as Commissioner Secretary of the Revenue Department in J&K.
Taking note of the delays, the court directed the Home Ministry to file an updated action-taken report and upload its final decision on the prosecution of the accused officers before the next hearing. The case will be re-listed for further proceedings on March 20.