Vaghela Ramsinh Bhursinh vs State Of Gujarat

A.Y. Kogje, J

Draft amendment is allowed, to be carried out forthwith.

This application is for challenging the order of cancellation of licence of the applicant and rejection of the revision application filed by the petitioner under Section 18 of the Arms Act 1959. Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that only out of bonafide mistake the applicant was not able to make an application for renewal of his fire-arm licence and therefore the authorities had cancelled the licence and the Appeal preferred by the applicant was also rejected merely on the ground that after the expiry of the fire-arm licence the applicant had not made an application for renewal as per the requirement of the Act for long period of 19 years and therefore, the bonafide requirement of the fire-arm of the petitioner is doubtful.

Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the petitioner had filed petition before this Court being Special Criminal Application No.6309 of 2017, wherein directions were issued by order dated 29.08.2017 to consider by quashing and setting aside the order by the authorities and to decide the application of the petitioner in accordance with law on merits and as expeditiously as possible, despite such directions, once again merely on the lapse of 19 years the appeal of the applicant has been rejected.

Learned AGP submits that the Revisional Authorities was justified in concluding non-requirement of the fire-arm licence on account of the lapse of period of 19 years which cannot be termed to be a reasonable period after the lapse of fire-arm licence and such lapse of 19 years is sufficient to presume non-requirement of the fire-arm licence by the petitioner.

Having considered the rival submissions and having perused the documents on record. It appears that the petitioner was holding a fire-arm licence no. BKJ34GU since year 1994 for the purpose of his own safety and security. It appears from the pleading that inadvertently the applicant had failed to make an application for renewal of the fire-arm licence and it was from the show cause notice dated 31.03.2015 received by the petitioner on 05.06.2015 that the petitioner realized the mistake of the petitioner in not applying for the renewal of the fire-arm licence.

It appears that the licence came to be cancelled by order dated 11.01.2016, against which the petitioner had filed a revision application. As the revision application was decided but on the ground of delay alone the petitioner had preferred Special Criminal Application No.6309 of 2017 which came to be decided on 29.08.2017. It appears that in the aforesaid order this court had set aside an order dated 30.03.2017 and had directed the authority to decide the revision application of the petitioner in accordance with law and on its own merits, thereafter by the impugned order dated 20.01.2018 the revision application 9-C/ 2017 came to be decided whereby the application of the petitioner was rejected. The ground of rejection were two fold, first being that no application filed by the petitioner for the period of 19 years had lead the authorities to conclude that there was no bonafide requirement of the fire-arm and the other being the issue of delay beyond 30 days in preferring the revision application.

The question of delay in filing the revision has already been dealt with and condoned by previous order dated 29.08.2017 in Special Criminal Application No.6309 of 2017. Insofar as the bonafide requirement of the fire-arm licence is concerned in the opinion of the Court the authority has erred in concluding that as the renewal was not filed for the period of 19 years the requirement of fire-arm licence was not there however, there is nothing to suggest that the petitioner who had possessed the fire-arm over the period of these 19 years and that to for the purpose of his own safety and security merely not holding licence will not rule out the bonafide requirement of fire-arm licence by the petitioner.

In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances it would be appropriate to permit the petitioner to file a fresh application of fire-arm licence before the Collector/ District Magistrate of the concerned district Banaskantha within a period of three weeks from today and upon such application the Licence Issuing Authorities (District Magistrate/ Collector Banaskantha) shall consider the application afresh on its own merits without being influenced by the fact that the revision application has been rejected on the ground of non-application for renewal for the period of 19 years. It will be obligatory for the Licence Issuing Authority to assess the requirement of the fire-arm by the petitioner afresh before coming to any decision.

With the aforesaid direction the petition stands disposed of. Direct service is permitted.