1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.922 OF 2010 Mubin Haroon Solkar .. Petitioner. Vs. R.R.Patil & Ors. .. Respondents. Mr.Shirish Gupte, senior counsel i/b Ms.Tahera Qureshi for the petitioner. Mr.S.N.Gawade A.P.P. for the State. Mr.S.S.Wahane, S.O. Home Department present. CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE & A.R.JOSHI, JJ. DATED : 31ST MARCH, 2010. P.C. Heard Mr.Gupte, learned senior counsel for the petitioner and learned A.P.P. for the State. 2. By this writ petition, the petitioner has sought to challenge the order dated 6.6.2009 passed by respondent no.2 rejecting the petitioner’s application for arms license. There is no dispute that the petitioner has filed statutory appeal being appeal no.ASSO609/A114/POLL9 dated 22.7.2009 under section 18 of the Arms Act, 1959 and it is pending before the appellate authority. In view thereof we deem it appropriate to issue directions to the appellate authority to decide the petitioner’s appeal within timeframe. Hence the following order: The appellate authority shall decide petitioner’s appeal being appeal no.ASSO609/A114/POLL9 dated 22.7.2009 as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of four weeks from today. S 2 Learned A.P.P. to communicate this order to the appellate authority forthwith. It is open to the petitioner to rely on the judgment dated 12.2.2009 of this court in Khan Abdul Wahab Usman V. State of Maharashtra & Ors. passed in writ petition no.2688 of 2008 before the appellate authority. While passing this order we shall not be understood to have issued any directions to the appellate authority and the appellate authority shall deal with the case on merits in accordance with law. All contentions of the parties are kept open. With these observations the writ petition is disposed of. (A.R.JOSHI,J.) (D.B.BHOSALE,J.)