JAMMU: Deputy Solicitor General of India has informed High Court of J&K and Ladakh that formal decision for granting sanctions for prosecution against eight IAS officers for alleged irregularities in arms licences in the erstwhile J&K state “should not take more than six weeks.”
As soon as the hearing in a Public Interest Litigation started before a Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, Deputy Solicitor General of India Vishal Sharma shared a copy of the status report dated July 10, 2025, filed on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, which was taken on record by the court.
He submitted that vide three separate communications dated May 27, 2025, July 4, 2025 and July 25, 2025, proposals for grant of sanction for prosecution against the concerned IAS officers including Pandurang Kondbarao Pole, M. Raju, Yasha Mudgal, Jatinder Kumar Singh, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Niraj Kumar, Prasanna Ramaswamy G and Ramesh Kumar.
As a consequence, he submitted that the matter is being examined by the Ministry and the action as per the existing rules upon due consideration of the documents and comments received from CBI/J&K Administration, shall be taken.
Upon being pointedly asked by the Bench as to the precise time that the authorities would require to reach a final and formal decision for granting sanctions, he submits that in every likelihood the said process should not take more than six weeks.
“Be that as it may, he submits that he would furnish a specific affidavit/status report in this regard,” the court observed and adjourned it to October 9. -(KO)
