Allahabad High Court
Badri Prasad Yadav vs Commissioner Lucknow Division Lko. on 24 July, 2019
Author: Sudhir Agarwal
Bench: Sudhir Agarwal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH ?Court No. - 5 Case :- MISC. SINGLE No. - 1752 of 2009 Petitioner :- Badri Prasad Yadav Respondent :- Commissioner Lucknow Division Lko. Counsel for Petitioner :- R B S Rathore Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Sudhir Agarwal,J.
1. Sri R.B.S. Rathore, learned counsel for petitioner, learned Standing Counsel for respondents and perused the record.
2. By means of order dated 04.3.20099, District Magistrate, Raebareilly, in exercise of power under Section 17(3)(b) of Arms Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as "Act, 1959") has suspended firearm licence of petitioner and thereagainst petitioner's appeal has been rejected by Commissioner, Lucknow Division, Lucknow, vide order dated 18.3.2009.
3. From the record it appears that while entertaining writ petition, vide order dated 02.04.2009, impugned orders were stayed by this Court. The order of suspension is only an interim order and District Magistrate was supposed to pass final order.
4. Learned counsel for petitioner states that thereafter no final order has been passed.
5. Suspension order cannot continue for indefinite period particularly when more than 10 years have passed till now. Learned Standing Counsel did not dispute the fact that no final order has been passed by District Magistrate till date under Section 17 of Act, 1959 regarding cancellation of firearm license though there was no obstruction or stay order passed by this Court restraining Collector from passing final order with regard to revocation. This is patently arbitrary and illegal.
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6. Even otherwise, only ground mentioned in the impugned order for suspension that two criminal cases have been registered against petitioner, cannot be a ground even to cancel firearm licence hence suspension on that account is also impermissible. (See, Har Prasad Vs. State of U.P. & Ors. 2005(5) AWC 4939; Pramod Kumar v. State of U.P. and Ors. 2010 (2) JIC 580; and, Kamal Prakash @ Kamal Nath @ Suddan Vs. Commissioner, Kanpur Division, Kanpur Nagar and others, 2010(2) JIC 36).
7. In view thereof, writ petition is allowed. Impugned orders dated 04.02.2009 and 18.03.2009 (Annexures 2 and 1 respectively to the writ petition) are set aside.
Order Date :- 24.7.2019 KA