According to the draft Arms (Amendment) Bill, anyone possessing more than two licensed guns will have to deposit the third one with authorities as the government is planning to ban the practice of granting multiple licences to an individual. The Centre is also planning to double the punishments stipulated in the Arms Act, enacted six decades ago, a Home Ministry official said. Under the present law, the offence invites imprisonment not be less than seven years but may extend to life imprisonment -- mostly up to 14 years. Thirteen lakh people have licences to carry weapons in Uttar Pradesh, followed by militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, where 3.7 lakh people possess arms licences, most of which were taken in the name of personal security. The Home Ministry has already discussed the proposed amendments in the Arms Act with the home secretaries and police chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Manipur.

Source: Mint October 10, 2019 15:00 UTC