1. The petitioner challenges an order issued by the Commissioner of Land Revenue, who has rejected the application of the petitioner for licence to hold a Non-Prohibited Bore weapon on the ground that the petitioner does not face imminent and grave danger to his life. The petitioner has challenged this order, appended to this writ petition as Ext.P8, on various grounds but primarily alleging that it has been issued without understanding the true import of the pertinent and applicable instructions issued by the Government of India, quad hoc, issuance of gun licences to citizens.

2. I have heard Sri.P.Sanjay, the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Assistant Solicitor General appearing for the fourth respondent and the learned Government Pleader.

3. Even an exfacie examination of Ext.P8 order would show that the rejection of petitioner's application has been founded on certain specific instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is produced as Ext.P9. The Commissioner of Land Revenue appears to have understood the said instructions to mean that only a person who faces “grave and imminent threat” to his life may be given a gun licence. If this was the instruction contained in Ext.P9, I am sure that the order would stand justified. However, the question is whether this is the manner in which Ext.P9 would concede to interpretation.

4. Since the entire edifice of the petitioner's claim is built on the instructions contained in Ext.P9, I think it will be fructiferous to read its relevant contents in full. I, therefore, deem it idoneous to extract the instructions in Ext.P9, as are relevant to this case as under:

“(i) Grant of Arms Licence for Prohibited Bore (PB) weapons:

The arms licences for acquisition of PB weapons are considered by the Central Government in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It has been decided that henceforth applications for grant of PB weapon may be considered from the following category of persons:-

(a) Those persons who face grave and imminent threat to their lives by mere reason of being residents of a geographical area (or areas) where terrorists are most active and/or are held to be prime “targets” in the eyes of terrorists and/or are known to be inimical to the aims and objects of the terrorists and as such face danger to their lives.

(b) Those Government officials who by virtue of the office occupied by them and/or the nature of duties performed by them and/or in due discharge of their official duty have made themselves targets in the eyes of terrorists and are vulnerable to terrorist attack.

(c) Those MPs and MLAs including non-officials/private persons who by virtue of having been closely and/or actively associated with anti-terrorist programmes and policies of the Government or by mere reason of their holding views, political or otherwise, not to the liking of the terrorists, have rendered themselves open to attack by the terrorists.

(d) The family members/kith and kin of those who by the very nature of their duties or performance (past or present) or positions occupied in the Government (past or present) or even otherwise for known/unknown reasons have been rendered vulnerable and have come to be regarded by the terrorists as fit targets for elimination.

Accordingly, it is requested that applications for grant of PB weapons from the above categories of persons may be forwarded to MHA (Arms Section) along with recommendations of the DM concerned, recommendations of the State Govt. and police verifications.

(ii) Grant of Arms Licence for Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) weapons:

The arms licences for acquisition of NPB weapons are considered by the State Government/DM concerned. At present, there are no norms for grant of NPB weapons and some State Governments may be issuing arms licences liberally. It has been decided that:

(a) Applications for grant of NPB arms licences may be considered from persons who may face or perceive grave and imminent threat to their lives, for which the