The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has strongly criticized the appointment of IAS officer M Raju as Commissioner/Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD), despite his involvement in a CBI chargesheet related to the arms licenses scam. The court questioned the logic behind appointing an officer against whom the CBI had sought prosecution sanction, asking, “Is there a shortage of honest and upright IAS officers in J&K?”
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M A Chowdhary ordered M Raju’s immediate removal from his post, emphasizing that his appointment violated ethical standards and public trust. During the hearing, advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed, representing the petitioners, alleged that the GAD had been deliberately submitting incomplete proposals to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to protect high-ranking bureaucrats under investigation.
M Raju was serving as the District Magistrate (DM) of Kargil when the alleged irregularities occurred. On December 27, 2024, the J&K administration had sought prosecution sanction for three IAS officers—M Raju, Yasha Mudgal, and Shahid Iqbal Choudhary. However, the MHA pointed out deficiencies in the submitted documents and instructed the UT administration to provide the missing details within a week.
In a letter to the J&K Chief Secretary on February 12, the MHA further directed that the prosecution sanction proposals for M Raju and Prasanna Ramaswamy G (former Leh DM) be submitted with the administrative approval of the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor.
Expressing concern over delays in the prosecution process, the High Court instructed the J&K administration to submit an action taken report regarding the MHA’s communication and ordered the CBI to file a status report before the next hearing.
The final hearing for the arms licenses scam case is scheduled for April 24, with both parties required to complete their pleadings beforehand. This high-profile case continues to draw significant attention, highlighting concerns over transparency, accountability, and governance integrity in Jammu & Kashmir.
