The judgment establishes the principle that when a statutory remedy is available for challenging an order, the court may dispose of a writ petition and grant the petitioner the liberty to pursue the statutory remedy.

1. - By way of filing the present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for quashing the order dated 3/10/2007 (Annex.1) by which the petitioner's licence no.43/1995 was cancelled while exercising power under Section 17 (3) of the Indian Arms Act,1959.

2. The State Govt. has raised preliminary objection that alternative remedy is available under the Arms Act itself against the order of revocation/cancellation of license. Learned Additional Govt. Counsel has pointed out that according to Section 18 of the Arms Act, 1959 the order of cancellation of the license is appealable. Section 18 of the Arms Act, 1959 reads as under:-

"18. Appeals:- (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the licensing authority refusing to grant a licence or varying the conditions of a licence or by an order of the licensing authority or the authority to whom the licensing authority is subordinate, suspending or revoking a licence may prefer an appeal against that order to such authority (hereinafter referred to as the appellate authority) and within such period as may be prescribed:

Provided that no appeal shall lie against any order made by, or under the direction of the Government.

(2) No appeal shall be admitted if it is preferred after the expiry of the period prescribed therefor:

Provided that an appeal may be admitted after the expiry of the period prescribed therefor if the appellant satisfies the appellate authority that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period."

3. In this view of the matter, it is obvious that there is a statutory remedy provided under the Arms Act, 1959 for challenging any order of cancelling licence.

4. Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of while giving liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal before the appellate authority as provided under the Arms Act, raising his all objections within a period of one months from today. The appellate authority after hearing the petitioner and considering all the grounds taken by the petitioner in the appeal shall decide the same on merit within a period of one month thereafter.Writ petition disposed of.

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