[1]The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the Centre and the Rajasthan government for not taking action against its officers allegedly involved in illegal sale of non-service pattern (NSP) weapons of army personnel and issuance of licences to dubious persons.
A Bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar directed them to file a status report within four weeks on the probe against the government officials, including three IAS officers, for their alleged involvement in the scam.
"We are really shocked and surprised that the issue did not draw serious attention from the Centre and the state government," the bench said.
NSP weapons are issued to the army personnel for their personal use from ordnance depots.
The court was hearing a PIL seeking a direction against the government for not taking action against its officers after the scam came to light in 2007 when 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 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, were allegedly involved in the sale of NSP arms to dubious elements. The state government in its report submitted that there were around 284 beneficiaries in the scam and they are being interrogated.
The Defence Ministry also 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 illegally sold to unscrupulous elements.
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