Gujarat High Court Quashes Arms Licence Cancellation Over Denial Of Hearing
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
The Gujarat High Court has set aside the cancellation of an arms licence held by a Surendranagar resident after finding that authorities had failed to follow the principles of natural justice by not issuing a show-cause notice or giving him an opportunity to present his case.
The court quashed both the original cancellation order issued by the District Magistrate, Surendranagar, in 2020 and a subsequent appellate order passed by the Home Department in 2022.
Licence Cancelled After Three FIRs
The District Magistrate cancelled the petitioner’s arms licence on April 4, 2020, following a recommendation from the Superintendent of Police after three FIRs were registered against him.
The petitioner challenged the decision before the Additional Secretary (Appeals), Home Department. However, his appeal was rejected on January 1, 2022, prompting him to approach the High Court.
Court Finds No Proof Of Show-Cause Notice
During the hearing, the petitioner’s advocate argued that the cancellation order had been passed without issuing a prior show-cause notice or giving the petitioner an opportunity to defend himself.
The court noted that the Assistant Government Pleader appearing for the state could not produce any material establishing that a notice had been served on the petitioner before the licence was cancelled.
The state authorities had also failed to file an affidavit-in-reply, despite the petition having remained pending since 2022.
2020 And 2022 Orders Set Aside
The High Court observed that the District Magistrate’s original cancellation order did not record that any notice had been issued to the petitioner.
Finding a violation of the principles of natural justice, the court quashed the District Magistrate’s April 2020 order as well as the Home Department’s January 2022 appellate order.
The petition was accordingly allowed.
Court Does Not Examine FIR Allegations
The High Court made it clear that its decision was based solely on the procedural failure.
It did not examine the substantive merits of the three FIRs registered against the petitioner or make any finding on the allegations contained in those cases.
The cancellation was set aside because the petitioner had not been given the required opportunity to be heard before administrative action was taken against his arms licence.
