DRAFT CONFIDENTIAL Confidential 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 ……., 2011) (LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA ON …, 2011) RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI JUNE 2011/ JYAISHTHA, 1933 (SAKA) C.S.(H.A.)-…… 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 ……., 2011) (LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA ON …….., 2011) RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI JUNE 2011/ JYAISHTHA, 1933 (SAKA) C O N T E N T S PAGES COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (i) PREFACE (ii) - (iii) REPORT CHAPTER- I BACKGROUND CHAPTER - II ARMS, FIREARMS AND AMMUNITIONS CHAPTER - III EXAMINATION OF ARMS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2010 CHAPTER – IV RESPONSE OF GOVERNMENT TO ISSUES RAISED BY MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE CHAPTER – V PRESENTATION BY NON-OFFICIAL WINTNESSES CHAPTER – VI OBSERVATIONS/CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELEVANT MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF COMMITTEE *ANNEXURES: (i) The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010; (ii) Arms and Ammunition Policy for Individuals; (iii) Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Policy; (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; (v) Notification of Ministry of Home Affairs dated 21st May, 2010 publishing the Arms (Amendment) Rules, 2010. * to be appended at the printing stage. Composition of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing 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 Akhtarƒ 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. Dr. 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 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 ƒ 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. 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-1) 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 and 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. ♣ vide Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Bulletin Part II No. 47645 dated 1st September, 2010. (ii) 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, 2010regarding 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 Chairman Department-related Parliamentary 25 April 2011/New Delhi Standing Committee on Home Affairs (iii) 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 1st October, 1962. The Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules, 1962 contain provisions for acquisition and possession of firearms by individuals, and for manufacture, sale, transportation, import and export etc. of firearms 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 report from the officer-in-charge of the nearest police station, the licencing authority may grant the licence or refuse to grant the same. However, the proviso to sub-section (2A) of section 13 of the aforesaid Act empowers the licensing authority to grant an arms licence where the report of the police authorities has not been received within the prescribed time. 1.2 The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010 spells out the Government’s justification for making amendment in the existing provisions for grant of license for acquisition and possession of fire arms and ammunition, which is as under:- “Proliferation of arms and ammunition, whether licenced or not, in the country disrupt the social order and development, vitiate the law and order situation, directly contributes towards lethality of violent acts, and needs to be curbed. It is, thus, imperative to ensure that arms licenses are issued to the bonafide persons by the licensing authority concerned after due verification of their antecedents by the police authority concerned.” 1.3 According to the Government, in view of the above mentioned reasons, it has become necessary to modify the procedure for grant of license for the acquisition, transfer of arms and ammunition, and make the procedure more specific. CHAPTER- II Arms, Firearms and Ammunitions 2.0 The Committee has had occasion to discuss at length issues concerning the Arms and Ammunition Policy of the Government in its sittings held on 7th January, 9th February, 4th and 23rd March, 22nd April, 28th May and 11th June 2010.