MHA seeks full proposals to prosecute three IAS officers in J&K arms licence scam

In a letter dated February 21, 2025, C.P. Vinod Kumar, Undersecretary in the MHA, informed the J&K Chief Secretary that the UT’s letters recommending prosecution sanction for the three senior IAS officers were missing key documents, including letters/proposals from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), DVDs, and a legal opinion from the J&K law department.

The three officers are among 16 former district magistrates—13 IAS and three KAS officers—accused of issuing lakhs of “illegal” gun licences across the country during their tenure in various districts of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prosecution sanction is a legal requirement for initiating proceedings against public servants, including IAS officers, under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The MHA's letter directed the J&K Chief Secretary to provide the required proposals within a week, ensuring they include relevant enclosures such as authenticated copies of FIRs, disclosure statements, witness statements, recovery memos, investigation reports, an executive summary, a draft sanction order, and the written defence statements of the accused officers, along with specific comments from the investigating officer.

Mudgal currently serves as Commissioner-Secretary of Tourism, while Shahid Iqbal is on leave, and Neeraj Kumar is the Administrative Secretary of the Transport Department.

The CBI is investigating alleged irregularities in the issuance of over 2.74 lakh gun licences between 2012 and 2016—when J&K was still a state—by district magistrates, deputy commissioners, and licencing authorities, allegedly in exchange for monetary considerations.

Authorities estimate the scam to exceed ₹100 crore.

In October, the CBI informed the court that it was still awaiting prosecution sanctions for 16 former district magistrates accused of illegally issuing gun licences to ineligible individuals across the country.

On November 25, a Division Bench of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Chowdhary, criticised the “selective prosecution” in the case, noting that while the CBI had completed its investigation, the MHA had yet to approve prosecution.

During a court hearing on December 27, the J&K Government’s General Administration Department informed the High Court that it had forwarded its comments regarding the three officers to the MHA and was awaiting a final decision.

Last year, the central government approved the prosecution of Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, making him the first IAS officer in the case to face such action.

Ranjan also holds additional charge of the Revenue and Skill Development departments.