NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all states and union territories to constitute a committee headed by chief secretary to come out with an action plan to inspect and audit factories and workshops producing unlicensed firearms and propose steps to prevent its use in crimes.
“Though there exists regulatory and legislative framework to check unlicensed and licensed arms and regulate their manufacture and sale, the fact remains there is proliferation of factories and workshops producing unlicensed arms and ammunition outside the regulatory framework which are used in crimes against the society and the state. Thus, the need for monitoring manufacture, possession, sale, and transportation of unlicensed arms is necessary”, a bench headed by justice BV Nagarathna said while granting two months for the action plan to be submitted before the court.
The bench, also comprising justice Pankaj Mithal, directed each state and UT to constitute a five-member committee immediately.
While the chief secretary will head the committee, it will comprise of the home and law secretaries, the state DGP or inspector general of police and an expert in the field to be nominated by the chief secretary.
The court directed the action plan to comprise a way forward for effective implementation of the law to curb the use of illegal weapons in crimes.
Further, the committee was asked to give suggestions on tightening audit and inspection of existing licensed or unlicensed factories and workshops dealing with arms and ammunitions.
The matter was posted for hearing on January 30, 2025, when the court will take up the action plan of each state and monitor the progress.
The court had appointed senior advocate S Nagamuthu and advocate Anish R Shah to assist the court as amicus curiae.
Since police and public order are matters of legislation that fall exclusively within the state domain, the court had in February 2023 issued notices to all states inviting their response on the steps taken to curb the menace posed by illegal firearms.
The court passed these directions while hearing a bail plea filed by one Rajendra Singh, who was accused of murdering a person using a country-made weapon in Uttar Pradesh.
The court had noted that unlike the American Constitution which allows citizens to keep and bear firearms as a fundamental right, there is no such provision under the Indian Constitution and yet use of illegal weapons is easily finding its way into the society and proving to be a nuisance with its use being employed by criminal gangs, petty offenders and anti-social elements.
Nagamuthu submitted a note suggesting that the problem needed an immediate solution and could not be delayed further as the situation in some states was getting worse.
He termed the situation “alarming” in states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh where the reported seizure of illegal weapons was on the rise with each successive year.
Though there are laws to check proliferation under the Arms Act, Explosives Act and Explosive Substances Act, concrete steps are lacking that are indicative of the rise in the illegal arms market.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Centre pointed out some constructive steps being taken by the Centre.
The measures included an online database for arms dealers, mandatory marking or stamping of firearms and ammunition, regularisation of online sale or purchase of arms and ammunition, monitoring of cases where exemption is granted, database on ballistic footprints.
Nagamuthu pointed out that these steps will only help in regulating licensed arms and ammunition but will not address the larger issue of stopping manufacture of illegal firearms which lies outside the regulatory framework.
He suggested that it is high time the governments employ science and technology in mapping the factories producing these illegal arms as the mindset to tackle these crimes must match with the proportion and velocity of crimes.