Conscious possession under the Arms Act requires awareness and intent; mere physical possession does not constitute an offense if the possessor lacks knowledge of the contraband's presence.

Headnote:(A) Arms Act, 1959 - Sections 25/54/59 - Quashing of FIR - Petitioner sought to quash an FIR alleging possession of live cartridges found in baggage - Petitioner contended lack of knowledge of the cartridges, affirming the absence of conscious possession - Court noted established legal principles interpreting 'possession' to require mental elements, found in prior rulings such as Gunwantlal v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Sanjay Dutt v. State - Following a review, the court determined that the essential elements for offense under Section 25 were not met given the verified affidavit affirming ignorance of the cartridges in the borrowed bag. (Paras 1-12)

(B) Criminal Law - Necessity of conscious possession - The court reiterated that possession under the Arms Act entails both physical and mental elements, concluding that mere physical possession does not suffice for liability. (Paras 7-11)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner unwittingly discovered live cartridges in baggage borrowed from her husband for a flight, with an affidavit validating her claim of ignorance.

Findings of Court:
Court found no conscious possession and deemed the FIR and any proceedings as lacking basis.

Issues: The central issue was whether the petitioner was in conscious possession of the cartridges.

Ratio Decidendi: Conscious possession necessitates awareness and intention, differentiating between mere physical custody and legal possession, leading the court to quash proceedings against the petitioner.

Result: FIR and proceedings quashed.

Table of Content
1. factual background regarding the fir. (Para 1 , 2 , 6)
2. arguments related to arms license. (Para 3 , 4)
3. analysis of possession in legal context. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 11)
4. determination of conscious possession. (Para 10 , 12)
5. conclusion of quashing fir. (Para 13 , 14)

JUDGMENT :

Manoj Kumar Ohri, J. (Oral)--By way of the present petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the petitioner has sought quashing of FIR No.13/2016 registered under Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act at Police Station Indira Gandhi International (I.G.I.) Airport, New Delhi and the consequent proceedings emanating therefrom.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that as per the prosecution case, the incident in question took place on 07.01.2016 at the I.G.I. Airport, New Delhi, when a security personnel detected 05 live cartridges from the check in baggage of the petitioner, who was in the process of departure from New Delhi to Sydney, Australia via Flight No. CZ3028 (DEL-CAN-SYD) of China Southern Airlines from the said Airport. He contended that in fact, the suitcase/check in baggage was borrowed by the petitioner from her husband Sh. Avtar Singh for the purpose of travel, and she had not checked the contents of the same before using. Learned counsel also submitted that a duly sworn affidavit of Sh. Avtar Singh has been placed on record, wherein he has acknowledged that both, the bag used by the petitioner, as well as the 05 live cartridges, belonged to him. It is further stated in the affidavit that the petitioner used the bag of Sh. Avtar Singh for travel purposes on 07.01.2016 and the live cartridges, belonging to him, were inadvertently lying in the said bag.

In support of his contentions, learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the Arms License bearing No. DM/BAR/DUP/SBAR/0318/82 duly issued by the Government of Punjab in favour of the petitioner's husband. He has also laid emphasis on document bearing Sr. No. 5117211 dated 10.03.2018 issued by the Office of the District Magistrate, Barnala, Government of Punjab, whereby the aforesaid Arms Licenses tood renewed from 04.02.2017 to 03.02.2020 with respect to Non-Prohibited Weapon against .32 Bore for Revolver as well as 30.06 Bore for Rifle. Lastly, it is submitted that as the petitioner had no knowledge about the 05 live cartridges lying in her check in baggage, she was not in `conscious possession' of the same.

3. Learned APP for the State, on the other hand, has opposed the relief prayed for. He has submitted that on measurement of the 05 live cartridges, the length of each was found to be 3.2 cms and the diameter of base of each cartridge was found to be 9mm.He further submitted that `3.2 S&WL' was found engraved on the base of each cartridge. The same were sent for examination to FSL, Rohini, where it was opined that "...all the cartridges were live before they were test fired. They come under the definition of ammunitions as defined in Arms Act." A Status Report has been placed on record to this effect.

Learned APP has also submitted that the charge sheet has already been filed and cognizance has been taken by the concerned Court. Lastly, he submitted that the petitioner is a resident of Village & Post Pharwahi, District Barnala, Punjab, who had arrived at the I.G.I. Airport, New Delhi from her native place and was travelling to Australia via aforesaid flight No. CZ3028.

4. An additional Status Report in respect of verification of the Arms License of Sh. Avtar Singh has also been filed, which is taken on record. It is stated in the Report that Arms License bearing No.DM/BAR/DUP/SBAR/0318/82 was verified from the Office of Deputy Commissioner, District Barnala, Punjab and the same has been found to be genuine. The said license was issued in the name of Sh. Avtar Singh (husband of the petitioner), a resident of Village Pharwahi, District Barnala, Punjab, and was valid till 03.02.2020. As per the Arms License, stated to be issued on 05.02.