Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): The Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Thursday, dismissed an applicant's plea seeking possession of a third gun in his family in Chambal. The court emphasised that owning a firearm is not a fundamental right.
The ruling came on Thursday while hearing a case related to denial of a pistol license.
The petition was filed by Hardik Arora from Ashoknagar, whose application for a pistol/revolver license was rejected by the state government in 2011, even after favorable recommendations from the district magistrate and the commissioner.
After a long legal battle, the court dismissed his appeal.
‘Public security comes first’
Government lawyer Ravindra Dixit informed the court that issuing a gun license is purely at the discretion of the licensing authority, i.e., the state government , and cannot be challenged.
The court emphasised that public peace and security come first, and it would not interfere in the government’s decision-making.
It was also noted that Hardik Arora’s father and brother already hold gun licenses, and granting another one in the family was not considered necessary, especially given the misuse of firearms in the Gwalior-Chambal region.
Chambal has highest number of licensed weapons
According to reports, Chambal district has the highest number of licensed weapons in Madhya Pradesh.
Bhind district has around 23,200 licenses, Morena 24,426 and Gwalior tops the list with 34,142.
However, for the past one year, no new gun licenses have been issued in Gwalior due to rising concerns over misuse of licensed weapons in crimes.
