RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, March 31: Ranchi Deputy Commissioner cum District Arms Magistrate Chhavi Ranjan has closed his door to those who want to visit him for getting an arms licence. In fact, he has put up a notice in this regard at his residential office, apparently after Ranchi MLA C.P. Singh leveled bribery allegations against him.
Ironically, there is no system to let applicants know the status of their arms license application and one has to depend on the backdoor exercise only.
A visit to the arms section suggested that this year as many as 132 applications were filed for arms but there is no data reflecting how many of the applicants who filed applications this year got an arms license.
“Such data is not available. It will have to be compiled. Many got licenses this year but it is difficult to tell whether those who obtained licenses had applied this year or earlier as there is no time limit for disposal of applications. Many filed applications and forget while many chase their application to get arms licenses,” said an official sharing the technical problem.
Asked if there is any system to inform applicants regarding the status of their application, the official said it is yet to be developed.
“Applicants have to track their application personally. The application form submitted with a fee of Rs 1000 in the arms magistrate office goes to the office of the senior superintendent of police (SSP), from there it is forwarded to police stations concerned with applicants. From the police station, the verification starts and it again reaches the arms office via inspector, deputy superintendent of police and superintendent of police (rural or city), and SSP. It is expected from the applicants to track the application as no online system has been developed so far for the work related to the issuance of arms license,” the official said.
Executive magistrate Shweta Ved, who is in charge of the section, could not be contacted for her comments though several attempts were made to contact her and get some official information on the matter.
A high court lawyer said that the issuance of arms has always remained a matter of concern in the city though the rule is clear in the matter.
“In 2020, a person Lal Abhay Nath Shahdeo had to knock the door of the Jharkhand High Court to get arms license and after much argument Justice Rajesh Shanker on February 25 directed the deputy commissioner, who had rejected the application of arms license saying the applicant had no threat to his life, to issue a license within two weeks,” the lawyer said.
“Shahdeo, a builder, had knocked the court after he realized that the license is issued arbitrarily and there is no system to track the application,” the lawyer said sharing the details of the case, W.P.(C) No. 1246 of 2020.
