The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has expressed strong disapproval over the appointment of IAS officer M Raju as the Commissioner/Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD), despite being named in the CBI chargesheet concerning the arms licenses scam. The court questioned the rationale behind appointing an officer against whom the CBI had sought prosecution sanction and asked, “Is there a dearth of honest or upright IAS officers in J&K?”
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M A Chowdhary, directed that M Raju be immediately removed from his post, emphasizing that the appointment was in violation of ethical standards and public trust. During the hearing, advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, who represented the petitioners, claimed that the GAD had been deliberately sending incomplete proposals to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to shield high-profile bureaucrats under investigation.
The case revolves around M Raju, who was posted as the District Magistrate (DM) of Kargil during the time the alleged irregularities took place. MHA had earlier pointed out deficiencies in the proposals sent by the J&K administration on December 27, 2024, seeking prosecution sanction against three IAS officers, including M Raju, Yasha Mudgal, and Shahid Iqbal Choudhary. MHA had instructed the UT administration to submit the missing documents within a week.
In a communication to the J&K Chief Secretary on February 12, MHA further noted that the proposals for granting prosecution sanction against M Raju, who is accused in the arms licenses scam, and Prasanna Ramaswamy G (former Leh DM), should be forwarded with the administrative approval of the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor.
Taking serious note of the delays in moving forward with the prosecution process, the bench ordered the J&K administration to file an action taken report regarding MHA’s communication and instructed the CBI to file a status report before the next date of hearing.
The High Court has scheduled the final hearing of the arms licenses scam case for April 24 and directed both parties to complete their pleadings before that date. This ongoing case is attracting significant attention due to its implications on transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the administration in Jammu & Kashmir.
