MHA considers prosecution sanction against IAS officers in arms licence scam

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through the Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI), has informed the Division Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh that it is actively considering granting prosecution sanction against IAS officers allegedly involved in the arms licence scam.

The matter is being monitored by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal.

When a PIL titled Sheikh Mohd Shafi & Anr vs UOI & Ors came up for hearing, DSGI Vishal Sharma, assisted by Central Government Standing Counsel AC Koul, submitted that the affidavit required under the court’s order of October 9, 2025, had been filed.

He further stated that the J&K Government and the CBI had submitted clarifications sought by the MHA, and the issue was now under active consideration, with a formal decision expected shortly. He sought a short accommodation, which was granted.

Since 2019, the CBI has been investigating alleged irregularities in issuing around 2.74 lakh arms licences in contravention of the Arms Act. Thirteen charge sheets have been filed against JKAS officers, gun dealers and middlemen, but not against IAS officers due to the absence of prosecution sanction.

In its status report dated August 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that it had received proposals from the J&K Government for sanction to prosecute several IAS officers, including PK Pole, M. Raju, Yasha Mudgal, Jitendra Kumar Singh, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Niraj Kumar, Prasanna Ramaswamy G and Ramesh Kumar.

A meeting chaired by the Additional Secretary (UT) was held on August 27 with officials of the J&K Government and CBI to discuss the proposals.

Senior AAG Mohsin Qadri, appearing for the UT Government, submitted that the government had completed its part by forwarding the proposals to the MHA and argued that the matter should now rest with the competent authority.

The Bench recorded its appreciation for the assistance rendered by the DSGI and Sr AAG and adjourned the matter to December 30.