Madam,
thank you for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on the Arms
(Amendment) Bill, 2019. There are two major changes. Firstly, the definition of
new offences; secondly, enhancement of punishment. Apart from these two, the
other change is that a number of firearms can be kept by a person. I want to
mention a few international Conventions, out of which the Bill has come out.
There is a need to revisit the circumstances for bringing the Arms Act, 1959.
The Bill, in the present context, is having a root in the United Nations
Conventions. The illicit proliferation and misuse of firearms is a great curse
in these hectic days. By reading this Bill, I can understand the circumstances
for revisiting the Act. Increase in the organised crimes by using illicit
weapons, a growing number of licenses140
for arms, and inadequate punishment for the offences committed for using the
weapons have caused this Bill to be brought160
in the House. Madam, in 2001, the most intense effort came into existence
through the United Nations. The United Nations Small Arms Conference was held
in New York. The primary purpose was to consolidate and coordinate small arms
initiatives and develop an agenda for action. The resolving agenda for action
contains recommendations for various governments – national, regional and
global. As part of this agenda, the United Nations have taken up the issue of
small arms and proliferation of arms in the United Nations Security Council and
the United Nations General Assembly. Over these issues, another Conference was
comprehensively held in the name of the United Nations Conference on Illicit
Trade and Light Weapons a year back, which resulted in an280 International Programme of Action on
Illicit Arms. It was decided in the Conference to have a clear and
comprehensive set of laws, regulations and administrative procedures that
covers all aspects of manufacture, transport, storage and disposal of arms.
These are320 the pre-requisites
for an effective national response to an illicit proliferation and misuse of
arms.
I
hope, all these deliberations in the Conventions might have been kept in mind
by the Government while bringing this Bill. In that sense, broadly, I welcome
the measures taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Coming to the Act, I would
like to simply make two suggestions. Section 25 of this Bill gives a new
definition for the organized crime syndicate, in which any person can be
involved in an offence. The sole intention of the Bill is to punish those
people who are420 indulging in
an unlawful act which was meant for pecuniary benefits, gaining undue economic
or other advantage. My humble submission to the hon. Minister is that it should
not be only advantages because, sometimes, the crime is not committed only for
pecuniary advantages. The crime can be committed on the basis of the principle
of antagonism against a person or480
a group. When someone’s philosophy, principle or some policy does not suit the
other person or a group of people, then a rivalry or a conflict occurs between
them and a crime will be committed by both of them. That is not addressed in
the Bill. I request the hon. Minister that this point must be kept in mind. We
are talking about the misuse of a weapon by an individual, but what about the
misuse of a weapon by560 the
armed forces? A person can be permitted to use a gun or a firearm for
self-defence. What about the Government-sponsored act by the armed forces or
State police? One year ago, in Tamil Nadu, there was an agitation by the people
against the Sterlite Plant as it was creating pollution. It might be known to
everybody. A huge group of people protested to close the Sterlite Plant. People
were sitting peacefully in front of the Collectorate but the State640 police fired at the people without following
the norms prescribed under law. They aimed at particular persons who carried
out the agitation for years together, those who were the leaders and who were
the front runners in the agitation. The Police fired at them using the
telescope. It is absolutely a brutal murder committed on the part of the State
Government. 700 The Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu did not offer any condolences. He did not even admit
either on the floor of the House or outside that there was a shooting at all.
He simply said that thirteen persons were killed. So, this type of excess of
power which is used by the State’s armed forces must be regulated. Some
provisions must also be brought into account.
Currently,
in India there are approximately 4 million arms licences. It is being observed
that possession of illegal firearms that are used to commit crime has increased
and, therefore, the Arms Act, 800
1959 is being amended to regulate the acquisition, possession, sale, use,
manufacture, transport, export and import of arms. This will ensure reduction
in violence and will remove the use of illegal weapons in the society. Still,
there is an issue of firearms840
that have been in the family for generations. Most of these weapons are old and
obsolete. The inherited weapons are treasured items for such families and they
are not for any use. Recently, the Government has amended the Arms rules to
allow private manufacturers to produce firearms. Now, the Government wants to
restrict the ownership to one weapon. In such a case, the market of firearms
will get affected since the citizens will be allowed the ownership of only one
weapon. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, licenced firearms
hardly contribute to the growing crime in the country.
The
proposed law will not only decrease the number of licenced firearms that a
person can keep in possession, 960
but will also increase the penalty for certain offences under the Act. I am of
the view that a person can obtain980
firearm licence for only one weapon instead of three. In cases where a person
has more than one firearm, after the commencement of the proposed Act, he has
to deposit the remaining firearms within one year. Failure to do so will lead
to cancellation of the licence within 90 days from the date of expiry of one
year. The validity of the licence has been increased from three years to five
years. The Act bans the manufacturing, sale, use, testing, transfer, and
conversion of firearms without a licence. The punishment for manufacturing,
sale, transfer, conversion, repair, and testing of firearms without a licence
is imprisonment for a minimum term of seven years, which may extend to life
imprisonment. The previous prescribed punishment was imprisonment for a minimum
term of three years, which may extend to seven years. Punishment for acquiring1120 or possessing a prohibited arms or
ammunition is imprisonment for a minimum term of seven years, which may extend
to fourteen years. Previous prescribed punishment was imprisonment for a
minimum term of five years which may extend to seven years. The proposed Bill
has inserted a new clause with respect to organised crime syndicate. The
possession, manufacture, sale, and transport of firearms by a member of
syndicate will lead to imprisonment for ten years extendable up to life imprisonment,
along with a fine. Lastly, the introduction of this proposed Bill shows a
positive intent on the part of the Government to reduce the use of illegal
firearms which leads to violence. I am very much happy that the shooters, who
are the pride for the entire country, are allowed to keep three main arms, like
rifles, shotguns and handguns. It1260
is a good thing for the shooters who are bringing laurels to the country.
The
advancement in technologies has made1280
matters more gruesome as firepower of illegal firearms can now be made at par
with legal ones. The sophistication of weapons is also such that it becomes
more difficult to identify illegal weapons. Law enforcement agencies have a
tough time in identifying and establishing the illegality of weapons. Due to
rise of firepower, illegal weapons will cause much more harm than before and
will be a serious cause for concern in our internal security considerations.
Illegal weapons are not only manufactured and traded within India but also
outside the country. Transport and smuggling of such illegal weapons is a vital
link in creating a spike in the supply of such weapons. Such trade occurs
across the entire border of1400
India which is an offshoot of the global nexus of illegal weapons trade. As the
geo-political scenario further deteriorates in1440 our neighbourhood and across the
globe, it becomes pertinent to nip this supply chain through stronger
legislation that can curb the demand to begin with.
There
are some suggestions from my side. I would request the hon. Minister to
incorporate the following suggestions. Whoever threatens any person at the
point of arms to commit any other offence shall be punished with either imprisonment
of two years or with a fine up to Rs. 20,000 or both. Secondly, every offence
under this Act shall be cognizable and non-cognizable within the meaning of the
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. The third suggestion is the deletion of
section 39. The existing section 39 may be deleted as it calls for unnecessary
delay and technical problems. Before concluding, I would like to remind this august
House that before becoming a Member of this House, I was in the Andhra Pradesh
State Police Department and I fully understand the intent of the Government in
bringing1600 this Bill.
