JUDGMENT

S.B. Sinha, J.—

1. Leave granted.

2. An intricate question involving interpretation of the provisions of the Arms Act, 1959 (for short, ‘the Act’) falls for determination in this appeal which arises out of a judgment and order dated 06th February 2007 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay.

3. Appellant herein was a renowned sports person engaged in the sport of shooting since 1988 and has been participating in the shooting events at national and international levels. He has consistently been awarded the certificate of “Renowned Shot” in the categories of small bore 10 meter rifle and pistol, 25 meter all pistol events, 50 meter rifle events, 12 bore trap and skeet events and 300 meter rifle events.

4. Indisputably, the Government of Maharashtra issued a notification dated 25th June 1982 in terms of the provisions of the Act and the rules framed thereunder, classifying the target shooters into four categories. It furthermore specified the quantities of arms and ammunition permitted to be possessed by the target shooters. Having regard to the fact that the appellant fell in category 3 of the said notification dated 25th June 1982, he was granted two licences