LAKHAN SINGH Vs. COMMISSIONER JHANSI DIVISION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It appears that on 26-12-1963 the petitioner was granted a licence for a single barrel breach-loading .12 bore gun, pursuant to some first information report involving the petitioner in an offence under Section 307, I. P. C., the Additional District Magistrate, Banda, on 30th June, 1982, issued a notice requiring the petitioner to show cause why his afore-said gun licence be not cancelled. The petitioner appeared and filed objections. One of the objections taken by him was that the Additional District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to initiate proceedings or issue a notice to show cause for cancellation of the gun licence. This objection was rejected. The petitioner applied to the Commissioner, Jhansi Division, Jhansi, for transfer of the case for cancellation of the licence to some other authority. The Commissioner did not find any merit in it and dismissed title transfer application. Aggrieved, the petitioner has come to this Court.

(2.) The Commissioner's order on the application for transfer does not betray and manifest error of law so as to entitle this Court to interfere with it. The allegation that the Additional District Magistrate was friendly with the complainant does not appear to have been made out by any cogent evidence. The mere fact that the complainant was a lawyer practising in the Courts there including the Court of the Additional District Magistrate was rightly found to be of no material relevance so as to merit transfer of the case. That order hence cannot be interfered with.

(3.) The other and more serious submission raised to the petition is that in view of the provisions of the Arms Act and the Rules framed thereunder, the Additional District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to cancel the licence. It was submitted that under the relevant provision it is the District Magistrate alone who is the Licensing Authority under the Arms Act and so he alone could initiate proceedings for cancellation of the licence.