{"id":343572,"date":"2025-03-13T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T05:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=343572"},"modified":"2025-03-19T17:11:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T11:41:33","slug":"delhi-high-court-quashes-fir-conscious-possession-pilot-legal-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/03\/13\/delhi-high-court-quashes-fir-conscious-possession-pilot-legal-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNo ‘conscious possession’ of ammunition\u201d: Delhi High Court quashes FIR against pilot trainee but imposes cost for lack of vigilance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Delhi High Court:<\/span> A petition was filed by the petitioner, a commercial pilot trainee under Article 226<\/a> of the Constitution of India<\/a> seeking quashing of FIR registered at under Section 25<\/a> of the Arms Act, 1959<\/a>. Sanjeev Narula, J., quashed the FIR and imposed payment of cost of Rs 25,000, as no case for prosecution was made out and the petitioner’s lack of vigilance led to unnecessary involvement of the state machinery, which could have been avoided with greater care.<\/p>\n

The FIR was lodged following the discovery of a live round of ammunition in the petitioner’s baggage during security screening at IGI Airport on 29-03-2021. Upon failing to produce valid authorization for the possession of the cartridge, the authorities seized the ammunition and proceeded with criminal action. The petitioner contended that he had been undergoing training in South Africa to become a commercial pilot and was sharing a dormitory with other students. His baggage had been borrowed by his dormitory mates, who frequented shooting ranges for target practice. He argued that, on one such occasion, a live round of ammunition was inadvertently left inside his bag, which he failed to notice before his travel to India. He emphasized that he was completely unaware of its presence and had no intention of carrying the cartridge illegally.<\/p>\n

The Court examined the doctrine of “conscious possession,” which requires both physical possession and awareness or intent. It observed that neither the petitioner nor any of his family members possessed a valid arms license. The circumstances indicated that the presence of the live cartridge in the petitioner’s baggage resulted from an oversight rather than a deliberate act. The Court noted that criminal liability under the Arms Act is stringent and must be strictly construed. Given the absence of any firearm, incriminating evidence, or unlawful intent, the Court found that no offence under Section 25<\/a> of the Arms Act<\/a> was made out.<\/p>\n

The Court remarked that “the petitioner’s explanation, that the cartridge was mistakenly left in his bag by others who borrowed it, is plausible. Moreover, no firearm was recovered from the Petitioner, and there is no allegation that he attempted to use the ammunition in any manner that posed a threat to public safety. Given that criminal liability under the Arms Act is stringent and must be construed strictly, the absence of any incriminating circumstances further reinforces the conclusion that the petitioner does not fall within the mischief sought to be prevented by the statute. Consequently, no offence under Section 25<\/a> of the Arms Act<\/a> is made out against the petitioner.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The Court concluded that proceeding with the criminal case would amount to an abuse of the legal process, serving no legitimate purpose other than subjecting the petitioner to undue harassment. However, it acknowledged that the petitioner’s lack of vigilance led to unnecessary involvement of law enforcement agencies. While quashing FIR, the Court imposed a cost of INR 25,000 on the petitioner, directing him to deposit the amount with the Delhi Police Welfare Fund within 15 days. The Court clarified that security agencies were justified in treating the incident seriously but reiterated that criminal proceedings should not be continued in cases of inadvertent possession devoid of culpable intent.<\/p>\n

Thus, the FIR against the petitioner was quashed, ensuring that no further proceedings would be initiated in connection with the alleged offence.<\/p>\n

[Mohd Tarique Rehman v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2025 SCC OnLine Del 1557<\/a>, decided on 28-02-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n\n

Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n

Mr. Nishant Gupta with petitioner<\/p>\n

Ms. Rupali Bandhopadhya, ASC with Mr. Abhijeet Kumar and Mr. Anurag Arora, Advocates for the State. SI Kunal Kishor, PS: IGI Airport, Delhi.<\/p>\n

Buy Constitution of India  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The petitioner contended that he was undergoing training in South Africa to become a commercial pilot and was sharing a dormitory with other students who frequently borrowed his baggage for trips to shooting ranges for target practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67516,"featured_media":314886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[34751,79723,2543,68785,79722],"class_list":["post-343572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-conscious-possession","tag-cost-imposition","tag-Delhi_High_Court","tag-justice-sanjeev-narula","tag-pilot-trainee"],"yoast_head":"\nDelhi HC quashes FIR against pilot trainee, No 'conscious possession' of ammunition| SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Delhi High Court quashed an FIR 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HC | If a firearm is recovered from possession of a person at the airport which he\/she is unaware of can the person be punishable under S. 25 of Arms Act? HC answers","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"May 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court: Suresh Kumar Kait, J., addresses a matter revolving around the possession of ammunition by a person which he\/she is unconscious of. Instant matter was filed with regard to the quashing of an FIR registered at the police station \u2013 I.G.I Airport for the offences punishable under Section\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":221981,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/11\/11\/del-hc-fir-under-arms-act-1959-quashed-in-light-of-possession-of-ammunition-unconsciously\/","url_meta":{"origin":343572,"position":1},"title":"Del HC | FIR under Arms Act, 1959 quashed in light of unconscious possession of ammunition","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court: Suresh Kumar Kait, J., disposed of a petition filed against the FIR filed for offences punishable under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of Arms Act, 1959, wherein it held that, \u201cThe possession of the ammunition was unconscious and there was no threat to anyone.\u201d In the present\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":264206,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/03\/24\/arms-licence\/","url_meta":{"origin":343572,"position":2},"title":"If you are found in possession of live ammunition along with a valid arms licence, can an offence under S. 25 of Arms Act still be registered against you? Del HC resolves","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"March 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court: Deciding a matter of whether an NRI person in possession of two live ammunitions with a valid license can be registered under Section 25 of Arms Act or not, Asha Menon, J., held that, prima facie no malafide intent was found and the licence found was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Delhi_New-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Delhi_New-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Delhi_New-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Delhi_New-logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Delhi_New-logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":215038,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/05\/27\/del-hc-charge-framed-under-s-30-of-arms-act-quashed-in-absence-of-conscious-possession-of-live-cartridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":343572,"position":3},"title":"Del HC | Charge framed under S.30 of Arms Act quashed in absence of “conscious” possession of live cartridge","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"May 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court:\u00a0Sanjeev Sachdeva, J. allowed a petition filed against the order of farming of charge, whereby the petitioner was charged for having committed an offence punishable under Section 30 of the Arms Act for violating conditions of the license. The petitioner was a resident of Noida, UP. He held\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":213264,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/04\/05\/del-hc-possession-under-s-25-arms-act-is-to-be-backed-by-mental-element-to-make-it-the-requisite-conscious-possession\/","url_meta":{"origin":343572,"position":4},"title":"Del HC | “Possession” under S. 25 Arms Act is to be backed by mental element to make it the requisite “conscious possession”","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"April 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court:\u00a0Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, J., quashed an FIR registered against the petitioner under Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 for being found in possession of a live\u00a0cartridge at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The petitioner was travelling from New Delhi to Canada by China Southern Airlines.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":355564,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/08\/04\/tel-hc-discharges-man-carrying-380-live-ammunition-in-airport\/","url_meta":{"origin":343572,"position":5},"title":"\u2018Mere recovery without mental intent not conscious possession\u2019; Telangana HC discharges man carrying 380 live ammunition to use as neck chain","author":"Editor","date":"August 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe essential requirement to constitute an offence under the Arms Act is the existence of mens rea, i.e., knowledge of such possession or control over the firearm or ammunition, even in the absence of actual physical possession.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}