Case brief
What is this about?
WP No. 103774 of 2025 (GM-RES), High Court of Karnataka, Dharwad Bench, decided 01-07-2025 by Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur. Petitioner Shamsunder James Deodhar (age 86) sought a writ of mandamus under Article 226 directing respondent No.2 (Commissioner of Police, Hubli-Dharwad) to consider and pass orders on renewal of his Annexure-B arms licence; a show cause notice on possible revocation had gone unanswered despite the petitioner's reply. Court held the renewal application must be considered in accordance with law within a reasonable time and directed consideration within two weeks of the petitioner's appearance with required documents, strictly in accordance with law; petition partly allowed. Keywords: arms licence renewal, Arms Act, show cause notice, revocation, mandamus, police licensing authority, GM-RES.
What did the court decide?
Respondents directed to consider the petitioner's arms licence renewal application within two weeks from the date of the petitioner's appearance before the concerned authority along with the required documents, strictly in accordance with law.