The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday lifted the ban on issuing new licences for guns to an individual, nearly four years after it was first implemented.
According to the order dated 12.07.2018 issued by the Financial Commissioner/Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department Raj Kumar Goyal, it is hereby ordered that the restriction placed on the District Magistrates in the UT of J&K, for issuing new individual Arms Licenses, is revoked with immediate effect.
According to the order, all parties concerned, including District Magistrates (Licensing Authorities), have been requested to abide by the extra requirements in addition to adhering to the Arms Act of 1959 and Arms Rules of 2016.
Among fresh conditions require the District Magistrates, while considering an application for grant of individual Arms License, to necessarily obtain Aadhaar Card as a proof of identity, it further read.
Notably, bulk arms licences were falsely and unlawfully given by Deputy Commissioners of various districts in Jammu & Kashmir between 2012 and 2016.
CBI also conducted searches in multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi in connection with investigation in the illegal arms licence case.
According to the order, the District Magistrates must make sure that they only consider licence applications or requests for access to any other services from applicants who are residents of that particular district. Under no circumstances may they issue new licences or renew those of applicants who do not reside within their district’s boundaries.
Before processing any application, the District Magistrates were instructed to obtain a specific report from the Police certifying the applicant’s area of residence. Under no circumstances were they to deviate from the Arms Rules, 2016, Rules 17 and Rule 24 regarding the licensee’s addresses.
In order to ensure that the Licensing Authority is in a position to determine the suitability of granting licence in each individual case based on the assessment made by CID particularly with regard to the conduct of the applicant in social and public life, it was stated that the District Magistrates shall obtain a report from the CID Wing of J&K Police regarding the character and antecedents of the applicant, in addition to the Police verification prescribed under Arms Rules, 2016.
Keeping in mind the current security environment, the Special DG CID, J&K, shall form a committee under his chairmanship to examine each application for an individual arms licence for verification purposes. A report in this regard shall be forwarded by the CID to the District Magistrate concerned (under notification to the Home Department), for appropriate consideration, subject to fulfilment of the pertinent requirements outlined in the Arms Rules, 2016, and only after these requirements have been met.
According to the orders, the District Magistrates are personally responsible for ensuring that every service required by the Arms Rules—including licence issuance, renewal, extension of the license’s area of validity, entry of weapons and ammunition, registration in the event that a licensee’s address changes—is completed through the NDAL/ALIS portal and that a physical record (duly authenticated) of each entry made on the portal is kept on file in their offices.
Therefore, the District Magistrates may only receive applications for issue, renewal, or other services relating to arms through online means, namely through the licencing portal NDAL-ALIS.
The District Magistrates were required to personally ensure that all information uploaded on the NDAL-ALIS portal regarding licence applicants or licensees using services covered by the Arms Rules was accurate and error-free.
The District Magistrates were further instructed to maintain track of all licensees operating within their jurisdiction and to guarantee that the licensees abide by the license’s area of validity in collaboration with the District Superintendents of Police.
The District Magistrate shall not, in contravention of the Arms Act of 1959 and the Arms Rules of 2016, delegate any authority with respect to issuance/renewal or any other allied services under the Arms Rules to any authority below the licencing authority.
❤️ Support Independent Journalism
Your contribution keeps our reporting free, fearless, and accessible to everyone.
Or make a one-time donation
Secure via Razorpay • 12 monthly payments • Cancel anytime before next cycle
(We don't allow anyone to copy content. For Copyright or Use of Content related questions, visit here.)
The Chenab Times News Desk
