New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday
directed the Union Government and Rajasthan to file status
reports on the action taken against army and civilian officers
allegedly involved in illegal sale of arms and issuance of
licences to dubious persons.
A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Deepak
Verma granted four weeks for the response and also asked the
petitioner advocate Arvind Kumar Sharma to file objections, if
any, to the earlier affidavits filed by the Centre and the
Rajasthan government.
"How can you take the issue so casually? File a status
report on the action taken," the bench remarked while passing
the direction.
Sharma had sought an inquiry either by CBI or a former
judge of the Supreme Court as the alleged racket in sale of
arms and issuance of license impinged on national security.
According to the PIL, the scam came to light in 2007
after the authorities in Rajasthan`s Ganganagar district
noticed that several licenses were issued to dubious persons,
including terrorists, smugglers, rowdy elements by local
authorities without verification.
Subsequent investigations by the government revealed
a larger racket in which it was alleged that several army
officials, including some holding the rank of major generals,
IAS officers and those belonging to Rajasthan State Service,
were involved in the sale of arms to dubious elements.
PTI
