Gun law in India
Indian law allows firearm possession on a may-issue basis. With approximately five civilian firearms per 100 people, India is the 120th civilly most armed country in the world.
History
Prior to the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, there were few gun control laws in India.[1] The Indian Arms Act, 1878 regulated the manufacture, sale, possession, and carriage of firearms. The act included the mandatory licensing to carry a weapon, but contained exclusions for some groups and persons, for instance "all persons of Kodava (Coorg) race".[2]
In the late 1890s, the British Empire was facing a series of internal insurrections in India (as well in Sudan), and the .450 calibre .577/450 Martini–Henry rifle was the most widely distributed firearm in the hands of the anti-British forces. In 1907 the British authorities banned civilians from possessing rifles chambered in a calibre corresponding to British military centerfire cartridges (e. g., .303, .450, and .577) to prevent them from being used against British troops and authorities, or even just bullets being pulled from military ammo and used to reload expended commercial cartridges.[3]
That led to the replacement of the .303 with 8×50mmR Mannlicher, locally known as .315 Indian, demise of .375/303 hunting cartridge, which had to be replaced with .318, as well as to a rush by British rifle and ammunition makers to develop substitutes for now-banned popular big-game hunting rounds (Holland & Holland created the .465, Joseph Lang the .470, an unidentified firm the .475 Nitro Express, Eley Brothers the .475 No 2 Nitro Express and Westley Richards the .476,[4] with the .470 NE becoming the most popular). .400 also gained some usage.
Right to bear arms also came into political space during Indian independence movement. Right to bear arms was admitted as a fundamental right into 1931 Karachi Resolution which was drafted by Gandhi.[5] There was also debate of admitting Right to bear arms into Indian constitution during Drafting of the constitution[6] But this was ultimately rejected by the constituent assembly .
In 1959 the Arms Act was passed with new strict rules. It has been amended many times since, most recently in 2019.
Current law
Indian law divides firearm licenses into two types:
- Prohibited Bore (PB) includes fully automatic, semi-automatic firearms and some other specified types which can only be issued by the central government for certain groups of people;
- Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) includes remaining types of firearms and may be issued by central and state governments for ordinary citizens.
In 2016, after the release of the Arms Rules, 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs instructed all State Governments to further cast an overviewing role over all types of firearms. In addition to designating air guns as firearms, it directed the State Government to further direct all District Magistrates (DC/DM) of their States to enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The SoPs required all air gun owners to test their firearms and furnish details of purchase. It also instructed all DCs to delegate each of their Sub-Divisional Commissioners (SDC/SDO/SDM) in charge of the Arms Branch to coordinate and conduct tests of air guns. It was stipulated that an Armorer be requisitioned by the District Magistrate from the Superintendent of Police (SP) to assist in the testing. It stipulated that tested and verified license-free air guns be given an Arms License Not Required (ALNR) certificate after testing using a chronometer, after which jurisdiction-specific identification marks be stamped on the firearms. As such, in May 2023, the Government of Mizoram released an Office Memorandum stating that ALNR certificates were under the direct purview of the DM without the need for further administrative approval while Arms License Required (ALR) applications be sent to the Home Department for further administrative approval. The memorandum also reiterated the 2016 Ministry of Home Affairs instructions.
Such SoPs were aimed at further ensuring a strict divide between 'license required' and 'license not required' firearms in the country. [7]
Non-Prohibited Bore Licenses
The law states that a license can be issued to anyone who has a good reason without stipulating what constitutes a good reason. Typically, applicants wanting a license for self-defense purposes need to prove danger to their life. Article 14 states that authorities can deny a license for unspecified "public peace or for public safety" reasons. They are not obligated to give reason for refusal of an application if they deem it to be necessary. Firearm licenses must be renewed every five years. Approximately 50% of the applications for license are accepted. For example, of the 12.8 million inhabitants, between April 2015 and March 2016, authorities in Mumbai rejected 169 out of 342 firearm applications.[8]
Some local jurisdictions may have additional requirements for granting licenses. For example in 2019 the commissioner of Firozpur district in Punjab ordered that every license applicant must plant at least 10 trees and take photos with them.[9]
Air guns
Guns of caliber .177 that are within the legal muzzle energy of air guns in the United Kingdom. Owning up an air gun doesn't require a license but if it causes serious physical harm or death to anyone then the sentence of punishment is equal that of by the higher caliber guns. as per the ISSF rules the sport shooters much hold a minimum permit by an authorized shooter training club or institute and the state rifle association and later by the NRAI. Sports gun shooter without the permit from the club and NRAI carrying the air guns with them are subject to imprisonment.
Carrying firearms
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Open carry of firearms is allowed in India, subject to various conditions. According to Arms Rules, 2016, no person shall carry a firearm in a public place unless the firearm is carried in a holder designed, manufactured or adapted for the carrying of a firearm. A firearm contemplated in this rule must be completely covered and the person carrying the firearm must be able to exercise effective control over such firearm. Even mere brandishing or discharge of firearms or blank-firing firearms in any public place or a firearm free zone is strictly prohibited.
Violation of this rule could lead to revocation of the license and seizure of the firearm in addition to the penalty specified under the Arms Act 1959. [10]
Legally available guns (NPB)
Name | Price (IN₹) |
---|---|
0.32" Revolver MK-III | 84,700 |
0.22" Sporting Rifle | 71,500 |
0.315" Sporting Rifle | 81,400 |
0.22" Revolver | 50,600 |
12 Bore pump action Shotgun | 86,350 |
0.32" Revolver (Long Barrel) ANMOL | 95,920 |
0.32" Revolver (MK-IV) | 89,100 |
Modified 0.32" Pistol | 77,000 |
0.32" Pistol (Ashani MK-II) | 104,500 |
0.30-06" Sporting Rifle | 159,500 |
0.22" Revolver NIDAR | 49,500 |
0.32" Pistol | 86,310 |
0.32" Revolver NISHANK | 79,750 |
Firearm possession
As of 2016, there are 3,369,444 firearm licenses active in India with 9,700,000 firearms registered to them. According to Small Arms Survey, there are 61,401,000 illegal firearms in India.
The following is a breakdown of firearm licenses by state:[12]
State | Active firearm licenses |
---|---|
Uttar Pradesh | 1,277,914 |
Jammu and Kashmir | 369,191 |
Punjab | 359,249 |
Madhya Pradesh | 247,130 |
Haryana | 141,926 |
Rajasthan | 133,968 |
Karnataka | 113,631 |
Maharashtra | 84,050 |
Bihar | 82,585 |
Himachal Pradesh | 77,069 |
Uttarakhand | 64,770 |
Gujarat | 60,784 |
West Bengal | 60,525 |
Delhi | 38,754 |
Nagaland | 36,606 |
Arunachal Pradesh | 34,394 |
Manipur | 26,836 |
Tamil Nadu | 22,532 |
Odisha | 20,588 |
Assam | 19,283 |
Meghalaya | 18,688 |
Jharkhand | 17,654 |
Mizoram | 15,895 |
Kerala | 9,459 |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 125 |
Daman and Diu | 125 |
Gun crime
There are around 3.22[13] gun homicides per 100,000 people in India every year. Around 90% of them are committed using illegal guns.[14]
See also
References
- "Gun Control and Indian Arms Act 1877 During the Days of the Raj". Knoji.
- Punjab (India); Sir Henry Adolphus Byden Rattigan; Alweyne Turner; North-west Frontier Province (India) (1897). The Bengal regulations: the acts of the governor-general in council, and the frontier regulations ... applicable to the Punjab, with notes and an index. Civil and Military Gazette Press. pp. 1189–. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- "450 Nitro Express".
- Wieland, Terry, Nitro Express: The Big Bang of the Big Bang
- "Constitution of India". www.constitutionofindia.net. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- "Clause 7.64.68. Constitution of India". www.constitutionofindia.net. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- "Office Memorandum regarding Arms Rules, 2016 pertaining to Air Guns" (PDF). home.mizoram.gov.in. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- Gupta, Pradeep; Naryan, V (June 12, 2017). "Gun culture spreads in Dombivli: Legal arms used to settle scores".
- "Punjab: India state launches 'gun for plants' scheme". BBC. July 29, 2019.
- "THE ARMS RULES, 2016" (PDF). National Rifle Association of India. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- "Civil Trade - Arms Details | Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination and Services) | Government of India". ddpdoo.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- "India has 33.69 lakh gun licences, Uttar Pradesh tops list with 12.77 lakh". HindustanTimes. October 3, 2017.
- "Murder Rate by Country 2021".
- "Crime in India. 2015" (PDF). p. 65.
External links
- "Arms Act, 1959" (PDF). December 23, 1959. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2019.