Issuance Of Gun License Is Privilege, But Renewal Is A Right Subject To Section 14 Arms Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court observed that issuance of gun license is a privilege, while renewal of license is a right unless the grounds under Section 14 of the Arms Act, 1959 was attracted.

The Bench of Justice G.R Swaminathan observed, “Thus, what was a privilege which could be granted or refused at the discretion of the authority at the time of issuance of the license metamorphoses into a right to be granted renewal unless the grounds under Section 14 get attracted.”

Advocate S.Sarvagan Prabhu represented the Petitioner, while Advocates M.Lingadurai and A.Albert James represented the Respondents.

Case Brief

A Writ Petition was filed to grant the renewal of gun license for five years to the Petitioner. The Petitioner was issued with a gun license in the year 2021 and was also renewed once. However, the second renewal was denied.

The District Collector rejected the request for renewal on the ground of pendency of a criminal case.

Court’s Observation

The Court referred to the Arms Act, 1959. The Court observed, “The present position is that there is no right to bear arms. It is only a privilege conferred by the provisions of the Arms Act, 1959…There is a distinction between right and privilege. If I have a right, it postulates the existence of correlative duty on another. But in the words of Hohfeld, privilege is the negation of a duty.”

Further, the Court highlighted that though Section 13 of the Act shall apply to the renewal of a license sought under Section 15, it is clear from the language employed in the statutory provisions that an application for grant of a license and an application for renewing a license already granted do not stand on the same footing.

“When an applicant seeks license under Section 13 of the Act, the authority shall grant a license if he or she is satisfied that the person by whom the license is required has a good reason for obtaining the same”, the Court held.

Pertinently, the Court held that an application for renewal stands on a better and higher footing. A bare reading of Sections 13 to 15 makes it clear that while the burden will be on the applicant to make out a case for grant of license, the onus will shift to the authority when renewal is sought or refused.

The Court observed, “Thus, what was a privilege which could be granted or refused at the discretion of the authority at the time of issuance of the license metamorphoses into a right to be granted renewal unless the grounds under Section 14 get attracted.”

Accordingly, the Petition was allowed.

Cause Title: Magudapathi V. The District Magistrate cum District Collector

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