Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday
ruled that the licence for a firearm should not be denied to a
person merely on the ground that he or she was already in
possession of a weapon.
The ruling was given by Justice Shishir Kumar on a
petition filed by Sunil Shukla, an advocate, whose application
for a licence for a pistol was rejected on the ground that he
was already in possession of a .12 bore double-barrel gun.
The petitioner had challenged order of the Jhansi
District Magistrate, passed in December last year, rejecting
his application for the licence for a second firearm.
The petitioner had contended he owned a sizeable property
and needed a pistol as carrying a double-barrel gun causes
great inconvenience to him as well as others.
Allowing the petition, the Court observed "the
application could have been rejected only on the ground that
the police report was not in his favour or that he had misused
the weapon already possessed by him."
"If the law does not prohibit obtaining another arm
licence, it should not have been refused," the Judge said.
Bureau Report
