Rs 100-crore J-K gun licence ‘scam’: Home Ministry asks about ‘money trail’ linking IAS officers to arms dealers

The CBI is probing irregularities in issuing over 2.74 lakh gun licences between 2012 and 2016 — when J&K was still a state — by district magistrates, deputy commissioners and licensing authorities for “monetary considerations”. Agencies estimate the alleged scam to be worth over Rs 100 crore, with many arms issued “illegally” to armed and paramilitary personnel.

The latest MHA query follows a meeting on August 27 between senior ministry officials, the CBI and representatives of the J&K administration. The IAS officers for whom the CBI has sought prosecution sanction had served as district magistrates in Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri, Baramulla, Pulwama, Kargil and Leh between 2012 and 2016.

Prosecution sanction is mandatory to charge public servants such as IAS officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In its letter, the MHA cited allegations against two officers – one accused of “parking” Rs 12-18 lakh in his mother’s bank account and another alleged to have deposited Rs 2.8 lakh in two women’s accounts around demonetisation, later transferring the money back to himself.

“However, is there an actual money trail linking any of the gun houses or arms dealers to [them]?” the MHA asked. “Are there any financial transactions or transactions in movable/immovable property between the two parties?”

The ministry also asked the CBI to clarify how long these officers were posted in the districts under investigation, and why the probe was limited to 2012-2016 when some had held their posts earlier.

During a recent hearing, Deputy Solicitor General Vishal Sharma and Central Government Standing Counsel Eishan Dadhichi sought adjournment, saying a fresh affidavit filed by the ministry was not yet on record or cleared by the CBI.

The report followed an August 8 High Court directive giving the MHA six weeks to submit a “specific affidavit/status report” on its decision regarding the CBI’s request to prosecute the eight officers. Petitioners had cited CBI allegations to argue that the IAS officers were in cahoots with gun dealers and that the case involved “national security” concerns.

The CBI claims about 95 percent of the 2.74 lakh licences issued between 2012 and 2016 went to personnel of the armed and paramilitary forces who were neither residents of J&K nor posted in the concerned districts.

According to advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmad, counsel for the petitioners, nine IAS officers and over 15 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officials were allegedly involved, apart from judicial clerks, middlemen and gun dealers.

In March 2021, the J&K administration allowed the CBI to prosecute all KAS officers and judicial clerks allegedly involved, leading to chargesheets against them and several middlemen and dealers. However, no decision was taken on the CBI’s request to prosecute IAS officers. Ahmad said the MHA last year permitted prosecution of one IAS officer.