Delhi LG pushes for rationalization of licensing processes of arms

New Delhi [India], January 21 : Delhi Governor VK Saxena has directed the Delhi Police to rationalize and ease the licensing processes and to issue fresh licenses to renowned shooters with "all India" validity, as they frequently need to travel across the country for various sporting events.
According to the official statement issued by the LG office, the move, apart from helping applicants at large, will specifically benefit the country's shooting sportspersons.
"Following a decisive push by LG VK Saxena to rationalize and ease the licensing processes, in line with "Ease of Doing Business", Delhi Police has initiated a major reform in the grant of arms licenses, till now marred by complaints of favoritism, corruption, and arbitrariness. The move apart from helping applicants at large, will specifically benefit the country's shooting sportspersons," it said.
It further said that the LG has directed the Delhi Police to issue fresh licenses to renowned shooters with "all India" validity instead of validity within Delhi only, as they frequently need to travel across the country for various sporting events.
Further, their cartridge quota has also been significantly increased from 20 to 10,000 annually, with one-time cartridge procurement increasing from 10 at present to 1000, it added.
Apart from the speedy disposal of pending applications, it will also be ensured that fresh applications are disposed of in a timely manner through an online portal, which will be modified specifically for this purpose.
The LG has also directed rationalizing the renewal of arms licenses.
In a departure from the present system where the online portal does not prescribe any timeline for the arms licensing procedures, Saxena has asked Delhi Police to make all services, viz. fresh licenses, renewal, area validity, registration, sale of arms, etc. time-bound.
"LG has asked the police to expedite the disposal of all nearly 6000 pending applications by the end of 2024. Similarly, all redundant documents required for fresh licenses as well as renewal are being reviewed and those found unnecessary will be removed subsequently," it added.
LG has also directed to make the modified arms licensing portal operational by March-end.
The modified portal will provide the applicants the liberty to schedule the date and time of their interview online as per their convenience, preferably via video conference or video call, cutting possibilities of a human interface that often leads to harassment and corruption.
As per the statement, the move comes after LG Saxena successfully managed to get licensing requirements for eateries and lodging establishments rationalized and simplified, followed by a major rationalization of the Amusement Policy.
"The reforms aim at making the licensing regime transparent by curtailing the highhandedness and extreme interference of government officials and promoting a conducive atmosphere for individuals, businesses, and commercial establishments," it said.
The statement further said that the Delhi Police have already started granting provisional renewal during the pendency of the Local Police Report (LPR), after verifying the applicants' criminal record (if any) from the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) and State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB).
"In such cases, Delhi Police may revoke or cancel the renewal of the license in case it receives a negative police report in due course," it said.
Further, LG has directed to allow the renewal of arms licenses on a case-by-case basis, in case the applicants are involved in minor cases that do not involve the use of any weapon, bodily offense, or moral turpitude.
Similarly, for the registration of arms in Delhi that have been issued licenses in other Indian states, prior LPR and genuineness will not be required. Instead, registration in such cases will be done in Delhi on the basis of a report from the National Database of Arms Licences - Arms Licence Issuance System (NDAL - ALIS).