G LAKSHMAN Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has questioned the correctness of the order passed by the Government of Karnataka (Home Department) refusing to renew the four licences held by him which were valid up to 31-12-1984. It is not in dispute that these licences were granted to him to enable him to carry on business in the manufacture and sale of Fire Arms under the name and style of 'Dwaraka Arms Stores' situate at Sathyanarayanapet, Bellary. The State Government being the Renewal Authority under the Arms Act, 1959 (in short the Act), the petitioner made an application for the renewal of these licences in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the Act. The State Government made an order on 13-12-1985 rejecting his application for renewal. This order was challenged by the petitioner in W. P. No. 19681 of 1985 and this Court by its Order dated 16-7-1986 set aside the said order on the short ground that the petitioner was not afforded an opportunity of being heard before the said order was made depriving him of his licences. Accordingly, the State Government heard the petitioner on 20-8-1986 and the impugned order was made by the Home Secretary to the State Government on 27-8-1986.

(2.) A few facts which are not in serious controversy should be noted for a proper consideration of the contentions urged by the Learned Counsel for the petitioner as also by the Learned Advocate General. The petitioner was an employee of the State Government till about 1965. He is a Diploma Holder in Mechanical Engineering and was employed as an Instructor in the Government Polytechnic College, Bellary, in the year 1956. It is common ground that even during his employment in Government service he was acting as a Technical Adviser to his brother-in-law one Jaya Vittal who had obtained from the Government of Andhra Pradesh a licence in the year 1964 in Form No. XI bearing Licence No. 25 of 1964 under Section 5(1) of the Act read with Rule 21 of the Rules framed thereunder for the purpose of conversion, repair and sale of arms and ammunition. It transpires that in view of the petitioner's technical qualifications he was taken as 'a sleeping partner by his brother-in-law. There is some dispute whether the petitioner had obtained permission from the Director of Technical Education for the purpose of tendering technical advice to his brother-in-law. But, in my view, it is not very material to go into the dispute relating to the petitioner's entry into Fire Arms business since the authorities, viz., the Central Government and the State Government, had granted valid licences to the petitioner in Form No. 9 ever since 1969 in which year the petitioner took over the business as the sole proprietor and the licences granted to the firm of Dwaraka Arm Stores continued right up to 1984 without any interruption.

(3.) The relevant facts relating to the licences in question which are not in dispute should be noted. After petitioner took over the business as the sole proprietor, he obtained another licence from the Government of Karnataka in Form No. XI for the purpose of conversion, repair, test and sale of arms and ammunitions at Bellary in the year 1968. The said licence was in Form No. XI and numbered as Licence No. 3 of 1968. The business under the said licence continued till 1977. Subsequently, this licence was converted into licence in Form No. IX pursuant to the policy of the Central Government which treated the conversion licence in Form No. XI as licence for manufacturing arms and ammunitions by granting Form No. IX licence. The petitioner made the necessary application for grant of manufacturing licence on the basis of Force No. XI licence held by him and the Government of India, after making the necessary inquiries in this regard, granted him licence bearing No. 1/77 in Form No. IX. Under this licence the petitioner was granted permission to manufacture 250 breach load and muzzle load guns per annum. Subsequent to the grant of the licence bearing No. 1/77 in Form No. IX, the Government of India, after making the necessary inquiries and in consultation with the Government of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh amalgamated Licence No. 25 of 1964 held by the petitioner earlier with Licence No. 1 of 1977 and granted a comprehensive licence bearing No. 67/ 78 in Form No. IX fixing the quota of manufacture to 700 guns per annum. This licence bearing No. 67/78 in Form No. IX is produced as Annexure 'C' in the petition- Annexure 'C' discloses that the original licence bearing No, 1/77 for manufacture of 250 guns stood cancelled and the State Government was requested to cancel the copies of this licence on the records of the District Magistrate, Bellary.