IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.5434 of 2008 GOPAL PRASAD Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS ----------- 02 24-06-2008 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the State. Petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 5.12.2007 passed by the District Magistrate, Gaya. By virtue of this order the request made by the petitioner for issuance of arms licence of non-prohibited bore pistol/revolver has been rejected on the only ground that though the petitioner claimed himself to be a big business man, his income tax return is only to the tune of Rs.1,5,000/-. Petitioner terms this decision rejecting his prayer to be not only arbitrary but also extraneous for the reason that neither the provision under the Arms Act or any other law limits the issuance of an arms licence on the income-tax return which should be filed by the petitioner. The application of the petitioner has been considered by all the requisite authorities. There is nothing negative against the petitioner which can be treated as an impediment for issuance of the said licence. The innovation of the District Magistrate that the claim of the petitioner and his income-tax return do not match cannot be appreciated by this Court. This Court also takes note of yet another decision of similar kind rendered in the case of Abhimanyu Singh v. State of Bihar and others [2008 (2) P.L.J.R 342] where it has been held that it is not necessary for a person to hold a substantial property - 2 - for issuance of arms licence in his favour. In the totality of the facts and circumstances, this Court is of the opinion that the District Magistrate has not applied his mind to the issue and the matter requires reconsideration. The impugned order dated 5.12.2007, contained in Annexure-5, is set aside with a direction to the District Magistrate, Gaya to consider the case of the petitioner for grant of arms licence afresh within a time-frame of three months from the date of receipt/communication of a copy of this order. The writ application is allowed. rkp (Ajay Kumar Tripathi, J.)