Jammu, Nov 6: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed as withdrawn a plea filed by two IAS officers seeking to become parties in the long-pending Arms Licences Scam PIL and asking authorities to consider their representations before deciding on prosecution sanction against them.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Rajnesh Oswal.
The officers, Pandurang Kondbaroa Pole and Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, had approached the court seeking their impleadment in PIL No. 9/2012, titled Sheikh Mohd. Shafi and Another versus Union of India and Others.
They also sought directions to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to examine their representations before taking a final decision on the prosecution sanction proposal submitted by the CBI.
Pole, a 2004-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, is presently serving as Secretary, Land and Building, Government of NCT of Delhi. Choudhary, a 2009-batch AGMUT officer, is serving as Secretary, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
Senior Advocate Sakal Bhushan, assisted by Advocate Rahul Sharma, submitted that deemed sanction could not be applied in a routine manner and that the competent authorities must assess the matter on its individual facts. He said the officers only wanted their representations to be considered before a decision was taken on the sanction proposal.
The Bench, however, declined to issue the requested direction, observing that there was no basis to presume that the concerned authorities would fail to properly consider the matter without a specific judicial direction.
Bhushan subsequently sought permission to withdraw the application and pursue the representations before the DoPT. The court allowed the plea to be withdrawn and observed that no separate permission was necessary for the officers to pursue remedies available to them under law.
During the proceedings, Advocate S.S. Ahmed, representing the PIL petitioners, informed the court that the Ministry of Home Affairs had submitted an updated status report in compliance with its July 6, 2026 order.
He submitted that the MHA had examined the prosecution sanction proposal in consultation with the investigating agency and the Jammu and Kashmir Government. Following the exercise, the Ministry finalised its views and forwarded them to the DoPT for a final decision as per the applicable procedure.
Ahmed requested the court to direct the DoPT to place its final decision on record.
The Bench accordingly directed Deputy Solicitor General of India Vishal Sharma, appearing for the Union Government, to submit a detailed report on compliance with the directions issued by the court in the matter.
The PIL has been listed for further hearing on December 23, 2026.
Jammu, Nov 6: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed as withdrawn a plea filed by two IAS officers seeking to become parties in the long-pending Arms Licences Scam PIL and asking authorities to consider their representations before deciding on prosecution sanction against them.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Rajnesh Oswal.
The officers, Pandurang Kondbaroa Pole and Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, had approached the court seeking their impleadment in PIL No. 9/2012, titled Sheikh Mohd. Shafi and Another versus Union of India and Others.
They also sought directions to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to examine their representations before taking a final decision on the prosecution sanction proposal submitted by the CBI.
Pole, a 2004-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, is presently serving as Secretary, Land and Building, Government of NCT of Delhi. Choudhary, a 2009-batch AGMUT officer, is serving as Secretary, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
Senior Advocate Sakal Bhushan, assisted by Advocate Rahul Sharma, submitted that deemed sanction could not be applied in a routine manner and that the competent authorities must assess the matter on its individual facts. He said the officers only wanted their representations to be considered before a decision was taken on the sanction proposal.
The Bench, however, declined to issue the requested direction, observing that there was no basis to presume that the concerned authorities would fail to properly consider the matter without a specific judicial direction.
Bhushan subsequently sought permission to withdraw the application and pursue the representations before the DoPT. The court allowed the plea to be withdrawn and observed that no separate permission was necessary for the officers to pursue remedies available to them under law.
During the proceedings, Advocate S.S. Ahmed, representing the PIL petitioners, informed the court that the Ministry of Home Affairs had submitted an updated status report in compliance with its July 6, 2026 order.
He submitted that the MHA had examined the prosecution sanction proposal in consultation with the investigating agency and the Jammu and Kashmir Government. Following the exercise, the Ministry finalised its views and forwarded them to the DoPT for a final decision as per the applicable procedure.
Ahmed requested the court to direct the DoPT to place its final decision on record.
The Bench accordingly directed Deputy Solicitor General of India Vishal Sharma, appearing for the Union Government, to submit a detailed report on compliance with the directions issued by the court in the matter.
The PIL has been listed for further hearing on December 23, 2026.
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