Renewal Of Arms Licence Can't Be Denied For Not Owning Agricultural Land: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that firearm license renewal applications cannot be rejected for the reason that the applicant does not have his own agricultural land.The single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum clarified that the licensing authority, under Section 15 of the Arms Act, 1959, cannot insist on 'extraneous reasons' such as lack of agricultural land for not renewing a firearm. The court, hence, set aside the order passed by the Police Commissioner declining to renew a 12-bore SBBL weapon license of a 60-year-old resident in Mangalore who has held a valid license for the past 30 years.“...The licensing authority has thus imported a condition which is alien to the scheme of the Act and Rules. The requirement of ownership of agricultural land is neither a statutory precondition nor a permissible consideration. When the statute expressly mandates that lack of property shall not be a ground for refusal, the authority cannot indirectly achieve what is directly prohibited”, the court noted in the order dated April 23.Section 14(2) of the Arms Act says the following specifically, which reveals the legislative intent: “The licensing authority shall not refuse to grant any licence to any person merely on the ground that such person does not own or possess sufficient property.”“…. The said embargo, though couched in the context of grant of licence, is, by virtue of Section 15(3), equally attracted while considering renewal, in as much as the provisions governing grant stand incorporated into the renewal process. Therefore, the licensing authority, while exercising jurisdiction under Section 15, is bound to adhere to the same statutory discipline as is applicable at the stage of grant under Sections 13 and 14”, the Court further observed.The Court also pointed out that Section 15(3) includes a presumption in favour of renewal, subject to reasons to be recorded in writing for refusal. “…The said provision, when read in its true purport, casts an obligation on the authority to justify refusal on legally sustainable grounds. In the case on hand, the reason assigned does not satisfy the test of legality or reasonableness and therefore cannot be sustained in the eye of law”While allowing the writ and quashing the 2023 order, the court has directed the Commissioner to reconsider the renewal application without insisting on extraneous factors such as possession or ownership of agricultural land within two weeks.Case Title: Gregory F. Peres v. State of Karnataka & Ors.Case No: Writ Petition No. 11588 of 2026Click Here To Read/ Download Order

Renewal Of Arms Licence Can't Be Denied For Not Owning Agricultural Land: Karnataka High Court

Sebin James

Tags