JITENDRA SHARMA Vs. GEETIKA SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Writ Petition has been filed under article 226 of the Constitution of India along with Sec. 528 of the BNSS2023, seeking quashing of the FIR no. 110/2025 registered at PS IGI Airport New Delhi under Sec. 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 and proceeding emanating therefrom.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts as per the FIR are that on 3/2/2025, during baggage screening at IGI Airport Terminal-3, five undeclared live cartridges were detected in the check-in baggage of the Petitioner bound for Hong Kong by flight CX-698. Upon physical inspection in the presence of airline security staff, it was found that the cartridges, each measuring 3.2 cm in length and 1 cm in diameter with markings "328," "W.L.," and "K.F.," were seized, and a sketch memo was prepared. The ammunition was sealed and handed over to the police, and a complaint was lodged by Ms. Jyoti Gupta of DIAL Security. Based on the investigation and absence of proper documents, an FIR under Sec. 25 of the Arms Act was registered against the petitioner, and further inquiry was initiated by SI Rajesh Kumar.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner had neither knowledge nor conscious possession of the five undeclared ammunitions found in his baggage, and therefore, no offence under Sec. 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 is made out. Reliance has been placed on the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Gunwant lal v. State of Madhya Pradesh, AIR 1972 SC 1756 and Sanjay Dutt v. State through CBI, Bombay, (1994) 5 SCC 410, wherein it was held that mere possession without conscious awareness does not constitute an offence under the Arms Act.