SC takes suo-moto cognizance of possession of unlicensed firearms in Uttar Pradesh

The SC bench comprising Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagaratha was hearing a bail petition of a 73 year old man accused of which he committed with the help of his gun as the murder weapon. The Allahabad High Court had refused to grant him bail.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday took suo moto cognizance of possession and use of unlicensed firearms in Uttar Pradesh and asked the state to file a response on number of cases registered for the same under the Arms act or any other law. The court directed the state of UP to also enlist the steps that it has taken to root out the evil of unlicensed arms. The response has to be filed within 4 weeks, the court said.

The SC bench comprising Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagarathna was hearing a bail petition of a 73 year old man accused of which he committed with the help of his gun as the murder weapon. The Allahabad High Court had refused to grant him bail.

The accused argued that HC had failed to consider the forensic report wherein it was said that the bullet fired did not match the gun recovered from him. He submitted that its been 5 years since he is in jail and his health has been deteriorating.

During the hearing, the court observed that India is not US, where the right to bear firearms is a fundamental right. "Under the wisdom of our founding fathers, no such right has been conferred on anybody as per the Constitution of India," the court observed. Justice KM Joseph said that he is from Kerala and such cases are unheard of there. They are very few in number, he noted.

"Its the feudal mindset," observed Justice BV Nagarathna. The Court further said that its a disturbing trend and want the state to come with a response.