A view of the High Court of Karnataka.
The police cannot refuse to transfer arms licence to the legal heir of an licence holder for the reason that there is “no threat to life” to the heir when the Arms Rules, 2016, which has a specific provision for transferring arms licence, does not prescribe it as a condition, said the High Court of Karnataka.
The court found fault with the decision of the Mangaluru Police Commissioner in rejecting twice applications filed by 41-year-old Michael Mahesh Chris Saldanha, who had sought arms licence to take over a revolver currently possessed by his 75-year-old father.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, while allowing the petition filed by Mr. Saldanha, who is a pilot by profession, said that the Commissioner erred in rejecting the petitioner’s second application by giving the same reason that he had “no threat to life” even after the appellate authority, the Home Secretary, had set aside the earlier order rejecting the petitioner’s application.
The court noted that Rule 25 (1)(b) of the Arms Rules states that when the licensee attains the age of 70 or holds the firearm for 25 years, whichever is earlier, the licensing authority may grant the licence to any legal heir nominated by him, provided that there is no adverse remarks against the legal heir in the police report.
The Rules also has provision for transfer of licence to the legal heir after the death of the licensee, the court pointed out.
In the present case, the court said the petitioner’s father is 75-years-old and he has been holding the licence from 1971. With the dual conditions under Rule 25(1)(b) being satisfied, the only aspect required was that there should not be any adverse remarks in the police report.
The court directed the Commissioner to grant licence to the petitioner within four weeks.
Published – November 20, 2025 08:31 pm IST
