Govt inaction in illegal weapons sale case irks SC
The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over the inertia of the Centre and Rajasthan government in acting against officials involved in sale of Army's Non-Service Pattern weapons and issuance of licences to dubious people.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over the inertia of the Centre and Rajasthan government in acting against officials involved in sale of Army’s Non-Service Pattern weapons and issuance of licences to dubious people.
"We are really shocked and surprised that the issue did not draw serious attention from the Centre and the state government," said a bench comprising Justice B Sudershan Reddy and Justice SS Nijjar. The court directed the governments to file a status report within four weeks on the probe against government officials, including three IAS officers, for their alleged involvement in the scam.
The court response came in response to a PIL seeking direction to the governments to take action against the concerned officers after the scam came to light in 2007. Authorities in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district noticed that several licenses were issued to dubious persons, including terrorists, smugglers and rowdy elements by local authorities without verification.
Subsequent investigations by the government revealed involvement of a larger racket in which several Army officials, including some holding the rank of Major Generals, IAS officers and those belonging to Rajasthan State Service, in the sale of arms to dubious elements. The state government in its report submitted that there were around 284 beneficiaries in the scam are being interrogated.
The Defence Ministry told the court that it has decided to review the procedures for issuing NSP weapons to Army personnel in view of the finding that they were sold to unscrupulous elements. NSP weapons are issued to the army personnel for their personal use from ordnance depots.
"We are really shocked and surprised that the issue did not draw serious attention from the Centre and the state government," said a bench comprising Justice B Sudershan Reddy and Justice SS Nijjar. The court directed the governments to file a status report within four weeks on the probe against government officials, including three IAS officers, for their alleged involvement in the scam.
The court response came in response to a PIL seeking direction to the governments to take action against the concerned officers after the scam came to light in 2007. Authorities in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district noticed that several licenses were issued to dubious persons, including terrorists, smugglers and rowdy elements by local authorities without verification.
Subsequent investigations by the government revealed involvement of a larger racket in which several Army officials, including some holding the rank of Major Generals, IAS officers and those belonging to Rajasthan State Service, in the sale of arms to dubious elements. The state government in its report submitted that there were around 284 beneficiaries in the scam are being interrogated.
The Defence Ministry told the court that it has decided to review the procedures for issuing NSP weapons to Army personnel in view of the finding that they were sold to unscrupulous elements. NSP weapons are issued to the army personnel for their personal use from ordnance depots.
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