J&K HC dismisses two IAS officers’ plea seeking intervention in PIL in alleged arms licence scam case

STC NEWS DESK
JAMMU, NOVEMBER 06 (STC): The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed as withdrawn an application by two senior IAS officers seeking intervention in a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the alleged arms licence scam and directions to the Centre to consider their representations before deciding on a CBI proposal seeking sanction for their prosecution.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Rajnesh Oswal passed the order on November 3 while hearing an application moved by Pandurang Kondbaroa Pole, a 2004-batch AGMUT-cadre IAS officer, and Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, a 2009-batch officer of the same cadre.
Pole is currently serving as Secretary, Land and Building, in the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, while Choudhary is posted as Secretary to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
The officers had sought impleadment in PIL No. 9/2012, titled Sheikh Mohd Shafi and Another versus Union of India and Others, along with directions to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to consider their representations before taking a decision on the prosecution sanction proposal forwarded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Appearing for the officers, Senior Advocate Sakal Bhushan submitted that the doctrine of deemed sanction could not be applied mechanically and that the competent authority was required to examine each case independently.
He argued that the applicants were seeking limited relief to ensure their representations were considered before a decision was taken on the CBI proposal.
The bench, however, declined to issue such directions, observing that the apprehension that the authorities would not properly apply their minds without judicial intervention was not sufficient grounds for entertaining the application.
“The reason why this Court has not accepted the application is that merely the gist of the submission made by learned Senior counsel was that unless the Court directs there will not be proper application of mind by the respondents, which does not seem to find any favour of the Court,” the bench observed.
The court dismissed the application as withdrawn after counsel indicated that the officers would pursue their representations before the DoPT.
It further observed that no specific liberty from the court was necessary for the applicants to avail themselves of remedies available under law.
Meanwhile, Advocate S S Ahmed, representing the petitioners in the original PIL, informed the bench that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had submitted an updated status report in compliance with the court’s July 6, 2026 order.
According to the report, the MHA, after examining the matter and holding consultations with the investigating agency and the Jammu and Kashmir government, had finalised its views on the CBI proposal and forwarded its considered opinion to the DoPT for a final decision under the prescribed procedure.
Ahmed urged the court to direct the DoPT to place its final decision on record.
Taking note of the submissions, the bench directed Deputy Solicitor General of India Vishal Sharma, appearing for the Union government, to file a comprehensive report detailing compliance with the court’s directions issued from time to time.
The matter, along with connected petitions, has been listed for further hearing on December 23, 2026.
The PIL, pending since 2012, relates to allegations of illegal issuance of arms licences in Jammu and Kashmir, a matter under investigation by the CBI. (Straight Talk Communications I Inputs from KNS)