KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has given the Sindh chief minister 30 days’ time to decide an application of a firm seeking a licence to manufacture small firearms and ammunition in the province.
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed observed that as per the relevant rules, the chief minister was apparently the highest authority for the purpose of granting any category of firearms’ licence.
It further said that in the light of the rules, the court was not convinced that any further policy was required to be formulated by the provincial cabinet in this regard.
The judgement read: “Furthermore, we are also not convinced that the rationale expressed by the home department in terms of the letter dated 11.07.2018 addressed to the CM’s Secretariat by the respondent No.3 with reference to the performance of the petitioner’s arms dealership under the licence previously granted has any relevance to the aspect of manufacturing or that it presents a valid cause for denial of the licence sought in that regard, especially in the wake of the NOCs/clearances otherwise forthcoming from the relevant quarters”.
It further stated that the petitioner was apparently engaged in the business of arms dealership, operating under a licence granted in terms of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013 and the Sindh Arms Rules, 2018 and the case was set up around an application for a manufacturing licence made by the petitioner to the CM in 2018.
The CM was pleased to make a handwritten endorsement stating that “Permission may be granted as per policy”, however, the desired licence remained unissued despite repeated reminders and on the contrary, in 2019 a summary was prepared for the CM where it was proposed that the matter be placed before the provincial cabinet, it added.
The counsel for the petitioner contended that the impugned summary and further procedures alluded to therein were unnecessary measures as highest authority within contemplation of the act and rules was the CM.
Therefore, the lawyer further asserted that impugned summary was a mala fide step designed to delay and frustrate implementation of the matter.
The additional advocate general argued that the CM’s endorsement did not constitute a definitive and final permission per se, but was merely a directive to home department to process the application in accordance with the policy after properly assessing petitioner’s credentials and viability of proposal from all relevant standpoints.
It was also submitted that whilst the licence for the petitioner’s arms shop had been granted in 2016 and an inspection conducted in 2018 revealed that the same was non-functional and due to non-serious attitude on the part of the petitioner, the home department did not consider it appropriate to grant an arms manufacturing licence as it was a far more serious business and also had an impact on public security.
The bench in its judgement said neither the CM nor any other public functionary had a carte blanche whilst exercising any discretionary power, which must always be done fairly, justly and reasonably, and for advancing the particular object/purpose for which it was conferred, in accordance with the rules/regulations structuring that discretion.
“In view of the foregoing, and as the highest authority for purpose of the grant of any category of licence as per Rule 3.1 is apparently the CM, in as much as we are given to understand that the present subject is not one of prohibited arms or prohibited ammunition otherwise falling under Section 6 of the Act, we hereby dispose of the Petition under the given circumstances with the direction that the case/application of the Petitioner for grant of a small arms manufacturing licence be decided by the CM through a speaking order, in accordance with the Act and Rules, within a period of 30 days from the date of this Order,” it concluded.
Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2023
