Holding Firearms Not a Fundamental Right: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

There is no fundamental right of an individual to hold a firearm, the Delhi High Court remarked while ruing how possession of Arms has become a status symbol.

“The grant of Arms license is a privilege conferred by the Act. There is no fundamental right of an individual to hold an Arm. We are not living in a lawless society where individuals have to acquire or hold Arms to protect themselves,” said Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva.

“Possession of Arms today has become a status symbol. Individuals seek to possess Arms mostly for the purposes of showing off that they are influential people. Arms are even being used indiscriminately for celebrity firing at marriages etc,” he added.

Justice Sachdeva made the observation while dismissing the petition of a project manager employed with a private construction company who had moved court seeking grant of an Arm Licence.

The petitioner had challenged the May 10, 2016 order of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Licencing) and an October 5, 2016 order of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi by which his application and appeal for an Arms licence was rejected.

He had sought the fire arms licence on grounds of personal safety.

He had in his application before the police and the LG stated that since he was employed as a project manager in a construction company, he dealt with heavy cash transactions in order to give payment to labourers and other sub-contractors and also visits market for purchase of raw material for which he always has to keep Rs 2-3 lakh cash with him.

The police, however, held that he did  not have any specific threat and no good reason for grant of an arms licence.

Read the Judgment Here