Parliament of India Rajya Sabha 151 Department
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PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA 151 DEPARTMENT - RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIRST REPORT ON THE ARMS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010 (PRESENTED TO THE CHAIRMAN, RAJYA SABHA ON 2 JUNE, 2011) (FORWARDED TO THE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA ON 2 JUNE, 2011) (PRESENTED TO RAJYA SABHA ON 1 AUGUST, 2011) (LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA ON 2 AUGUST, 2011) RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI JUNE, 2011/JYAISHTHA, 1933 (SAKA) Website:http://rajyasabha.nic.in E-mail:[email protected] C.S. (H.A.) – 293 PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA DEPARTMENT - RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIRST REPORT ON THE ARMS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010 (PRESENTED TO THE CHAIRMAN, RAJYA SABHA ON 2 JUNE, 2011) (FORWARDED TO THE SPEAKER, LOK SABHA ON 2 JUNE, 2011) (PRESENTED TO RAJYA SABHA ON 1 AUGUST, 2011) (LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA ON 2 AUGUST, 2011) RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI JUNE, 2011/JYAISHTHA, 1933 (SAKA) CONTENTS PAGES 1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE...................................................................................... (i)-(ii) 2. PREFACE ...................................................................................................................... (iii)-(iv) 3. REPORT ....................................................................................................................... 1-37 CHAPTER-I BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER-II ARMS, FIREARMS AND AMMUNITIONS .......................................................................... 2-11 CHAPTER-III EXAMINATION OF ARMS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010 ........................................................ 12-20 CHAPTER-IV RESPONSE OF GOVERNMENT TO ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE ....................................................................................... 21-29 CHAPTER-V PRESENTATION BY NON-OFFICIAL WINTNESSES .............................................................. 30-33 CHAPTER-VI OBSERVATIONS/CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 34-37 4. RELEVANT MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF COMMITTEE ............................................................... 39-87 5. ANNEXURES .................................................................................................................. 89-113 (i) The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010; ........................................................................ 91-96 (ii) Arms and Ammunition Policy for Individuals; .......................................................... 97-103 (iii) Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Policy; .......................................................... 104-106 (iv) Advisory dated 31.03.2010 issued to all State Governments on 6th April, 2010 vide MHA communication No. V-11016/ 16/2009 - Arms-IS-II Division/Arms Section; .......................................................... 107-111 (v) Notification of Ministry of Home Affairs dated 21st May, 2010 publishing the Arms (Amendment) Rules, 2010. ............................................... 112-113 COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS (Re-constituted w.e.f. 31st August, 2010) RAJYA SABHA 1. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu ––– Chairman 2. Shri Rishang Keishing 3. Dr. N. Janardhana Reddy 4. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia 5. Shri Naresh Chandra Agrawal 6. Shri Prasanta Chatterjee *7. Shri Javed Akhtar 8. Shri Tariq Anwar 9. Dr. V. Maitreyan 10. Shri D. Raja LOK SABHA 11. Shri L.K. Advani 12. Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala 13. Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar 14. Shri Ramen Deka 15. Shri L. Raja Gopal 16. Shri Mohd. Maulana Asrarul Haque 17. Shri Naveen Jindal 18. Shri Jitender Singh Malik (Sonepat) 19. Shri Lalubhai Babubhai Patel 20. Shri Natubhai Gomanbhai Patel 21. Shri Nilesh N. Rane 22. Shri Bishnu Pada Ray 23. Adv. A. Sampath 24. Shri Hamdullah Sayeed 25. Shri Neeraj Shekhar 26. Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh 27. Shri Ravneet Singh 28. Shrimati Seema Upadhyay 29. Shri Harsh Vardhan 30. Shri Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure 31. Shri Dinesh Chandra Yadav * Shri Javed Akhtar nominated w.e.f. 21 September, 2010 vice Shri Tiruchi Siva, who has resigned from the Membership of the DRSC on Home Affairs w.e.f. the 13th September, 2010. SECRETARIAT Shri Tapan Chatterjee, Joint Secretary Shri P.P.K. Ramacharyulu, Director Shri D.K. Mishra, Joint Director Shri Bhupendra Bhaskar, Assistant Director Shri Sanjeev Khokhar, Committee Officer PREFACE I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, having been authorized by the Committee to submit the Report on its behalf, do hereby present this One Hundred and Fifty-First Report on the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010. 2. In pursuance of the rules relating to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, referred* the Arms (Amendment) Bill 2010 (Annexure-I) as introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25th August, 2010 and pending therein, to the Committee on 1st September, 2010, for examination and report within three months i.e. by 30th November, 2010. The Committee sought further extension of time thrice for presentation of the Report on the Bill, the last extension being upto 10th June, 2011. 3. Even before the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was referred to the Committee, it has had occasion to consider at length issues concerning New Arms and Ammunition Policy for Individuals and Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Policy, notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Advisory issued by that Ministry on 6th April, 2010 to all States/UTs implementing the said policy, as also the Ministry’s Gazette Notification No. GSR 453(E) dated 21st May, 2010, publishing the Arms (Amendment) Rule, 2010 in seven sittings held on 7th January, 9th February, 4th and 23rd March, 22nd April, 28th May and 11th June 2010. The Committee considered the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010 in nine sittings held on 1st & 23rd November, 20th & 28th December, 2010, 5th & 24th January, 8th & 15th March, 2011. The Committee heard the official presentation of the representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 1st November, 2010 on the Bill and on the 23rd November, 2010 on the Arms Policy and Rules and the Advisory dated 6th April, 2010 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all the States/UTs relating to ‘Grant of Arms Licenses for acquisition/possession of Arms”. As per practice, the Secretaries and senior officers of the Legislative Department and the Department of Legal Affairs were also present in those sittings to respond to the queries of the Members. 3.1 The Committee heard some non-official witnesses representing the National Association for Gun Rights India (NAGRI) on the Bill, in its sitting held on 8th March, 2011. 3.2 The Committee held internal discussion on the Bill in its sitting held on 15th March, 2011. 3.3 The Committee in its sitting held on 25th April, 2011 considered and adopted this Report and authorized its Chairman to present the same to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha before 10th June, 2011 when the House would not be in Session. 4. The, Committee has made use of the following documents in preparing the Report:- (i) The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010; (ii) Detailed background Note on the Bill as received from the Ministry of Home Affairs; (iii) The Arms Act, 1959; (iv) The Arms Rules, 1962; (v) Arms and Ammunition Policy for individuals; (vi) Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Policy; (vii) Notification of Ministry of Home Affairs dated 21st May, 2010 regarding amendment of the Arms Rules; (viii) Aide-Memoire on Arms and Ammunition Policy prepared by the Secretariat; and (ix) Advisory dated 31.3.2010 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to all State Governments on 6th April, 2010. 5. For facility of reference and convenience, observations and recommendations of the Committee have been printed in bold letters in the body of the Report. M. VENKAIAH NAIDU NEW DELHI; Chairman, 25th April, 2011 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs CHAPTER- I Background 1.0 The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to amend the procedure for grant of licence for the acquisition, transfer of arms and ammunition to make the same more specific. All matters pertaining to arms and ammunition such as acquisition; possession, manufacture, sale, import, export and transport are governed by the Arms Act, 1959 and the rules framed thereunder namely, the Arms, Rules 1962, both of which came into force on Ist October, 1962. The Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules, 1962 contain provisions for acquisition and possession of fire arms by individuals, and for manufacture, sale, transportation, import and export etc. of fire arms and ammunition. The Arms Act, 1959 and rules made thereunder also make provisions for punishment for contravention of the provisions of the Act. 1.1 The background note on the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010, as furnished by the Ministry of Home Affairs, explains that under the existing provisions, it is compulsory to obtain, under section 3 of the Arms Act, 1959, a license for acquisition and possession of fire arms and ammunition. Section 13 of the Arms Act, 1959, inter-alia, lays down the procedure for grant of such licences which requires the licencing authority to call for the report of the officer-in-charge of the nearest police station on the application for grant of such license. Such police officer is required to send the report within the prescribed time. After making such enquiry as the licensing authority may consider necessary and on receipt of