SUKHDEV SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petition is against the order issued by the District Magistrate, Fatehgarh Sahib, giving information that his application for arms licence has been declined on the recommendation of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Fategharh Sahib, on the ground that there was no actual perception of danger to him and, therefore, his request was declined.

(2.) The State supports its decision and would rely on the instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 31.3.2010 that sets out 11 parameters that should come into reckoning before a licence is issued. Para (ii) deals with the grant of arms licence for non-prohibited bore (NPB) weapons. It sets out procedure that the arms licences would be considered by the State government and there are no norms of grant of NPB weapons by many States and, therefore, there was need for settling the terms. The grounds are given as under:-

(3.) The situation in some of the States in India is truly poignant and the newspapers are replete with reports of macabre killings of young couple for invoking ire of the community of the so called high caste by inter-caste love marriages. While untouchability was declared to be abolished and made the only constitutional offence declared in the Constitution of India, we have still not been able to abolish many of its practices. If the statistics relating to honour killings are not sufficient to make possible inference that caste inequity and cross cultural, inter religious marriages are still serious issues that disrupt harmony in the society, what greater self deception could there be The truth is that dangers just lurk from every corner for youths who defy obnoxious norms that are placed for matrimonial bonds. A casteless society would be just another dream, if cross-cultural, cross- religious and inter-casts marriages are disrupted by deliberate killings. We cannot simply tolerate them. We need to engage in ideological fight. We need every muscle be flexed; every sinew strengthened and every citizen made ready to fight against those caste inequities.