“Guns can be a strength in the hands of trained law enforcement officials and soldiers with character, but in the hands of civilians, they are not just weakness, but a sickness. Without a trained host with character, a gun acts like a parasite, it not only makes the host sick both mentally and physically but more importantly it sickens an entire society. Let me put this in perspective. In the hands of a civilian, snake venom is poison, in the hands of a scientist, it is medicine.”- Abhijit Naskar

A bench of Justice KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna while hearing the bail application of a murder accused registered a Suo Moto case on the prevention of unlicensed firearms. In this case, an unlicensed firearm was used to commit the murder. In several instances, it has come to the observation of the judiciary that the use of unlicensed firearms is increasing. It has become a trend now.

As per the prosecution’s statement, a firearm without a license was utilized in the crime and charges under sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code were pressed. It is alarming to note the increasing occurrence of illegal possession of weapons in many instances we have encountered. 

The bench also compared the laws followed in the United States. It was quoted by the bench that “Unlike the US Constitution where the right to bear arms is a fundamental right, under the wisdom of our founding fathers, no such right has been conferred on anybody under the Constitution.” 

In a related scenario, Myanmar’s military government is also planning to allow “Loyal Citizens” to carry guns.