Arms Act | Prohibition On Buttondar Knife Applies Only If Knife Was For 'Manufacture, Sale Or Possession For Sale Or Test' : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court yesterday quashed the Arms Act case against the person accused of possessing a buttondar knife.

The bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta heard the case, in which the appellant was accused of possessing a buttondar knife (having dimensions 31.5 cms in length (blade length of 14.5 cms and handle of 17 cms) and width of 3 cms), violating the Arms Act, 1959, and a 1980 DAD Notification. The FIR and charge sheet were challenged because the knife did not meet the specifications for violation.

Delhi Government's DAD Notification dated 29th October, 1980 mandates that 'no person in the Union Territory of Delhi shall “manufacture, sale or possess for sale or test” spring actuated knives, gararidar knives, buttondar knives and other knives which open or close with any other mechanical device with a sharp edge blade of 7.62 cms, or more in length and 1.72 cms or more in breadth in the Union Territory of Delhi.'

The High Court refused to quash the criminal case punishable under Sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act, 1959. Following this, an appeal was preferred before the Supreme Court.

Setting aside the High Court's decision, Mehta J. in the judgment observed that "the notification whereby, a buttondar knife having blade dimensions of 7.62 cms or more in length and 1.72 cms or more in breadth has been brought under the mischief of the Arms Act, would be applicable only when the recovered knife is meant for the specified reasons i.e., 'manufacture, sale or possession for sale or test' as indicated in the DAD notification.”

“Manifestly, on going through the report under Section 173 CrPC, there is not even a whisper that the appellant's possession of the said buttondar knife was for any of the prohibited categories as indicated in the DAD Notification. Hence, the totality of the evidence collected by the investigation officer is not sufficient to draw even a remote inference that by simply being found in possession of the buttondar knife, the appellant acted in violation of the DAD Notification.”, the Court added.

Accordingly, the Court held that the proceedings sought to be undertaken against the appellant in pursuance of the impugned charge sheet for the offence under Sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act, tantamount to an abuse of the process of law and deserve to be quashed.

Accordingly, the pending case was quashed and the appeal was allowed.

Appearance:

For Appellant: Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, Adv.

For Respondent: Mr. K.M. Natraj, ASG

Case Title: IRFAN KHAN VERSUS STATE (NCT OF DELHI)

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 945 

Click here to read/download the judgment