'Licensed firearm not for celebratory firing' | Allahabad HC upholds cancellation of arms licence

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a licensed firearm cannot be used for "celebratory firing" during weddings or religious festivals. It said every arms licensee is duty-bound to maintain proper records of ammunition purchased and consumed, the court observed. The above observation was made by Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery dismissing a petition filed by one Akhilesh Kumar, who moved the court against the cancellation of his arms licence after he failed to account for 757 missing cartridges. In its judgment passed on July 29, the court said that an arms licence is a privilege subject to strict statutory compliance and upheld the orders of both the licensing authority and the appellate authority.

"An arms licence being a privilege is only issued when the petitioner undertakes that strict conditions of the licence shall be complied with," the court observed. According to the facts of the case, the petitioner was granted an arms licence in 2000. During an inspection in 2019, authorities sought details of his ammunition usage. According to the petitioner, he purchased 857 cartridges over the years but could produce only 57 live cartridges and 33 empty shells. He claimed the remaining 757 cartridges were used for target practice, weddings, Chhath Puja and Durga Puja.

Unsatisfied with the explanation and the lack of records, the licensing authority cancelled his licence under Section 17 of the Arms Act. Thereafter, the petitioner challenged the cancellation of his licence before the high court on the ground that preserving used cartridges was not mandatory when his licence was issued in the year 2000. The high court said that the provisions of the Arms Act and the Arms Rules make it clear that regulatory conditions form part of the licence and were subsequently crystallised under the 2016 framework.

The court observed, "The petitioner is not allowed to use a licensed firearm for the purpose of celebratory firing; as in the present case, firearm was misused in marriage and religious festivals," adding that failing to account for 757 cartridges established clear misuse and fully justified the cancellation of the licence.