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Journalism of Courage
US Army employee ammunition case: The Delhi High Court quashed a criminal case against Harmanjeet Singh, a US citizen and US Army employee, who was found carrying ammunition without valid documents, emphasising that ‘mere custody’ without awareness is not an offence under the Arms Act.
Allowing the plea of Singh, the court remarked, “If he were to consciously carry the cartridges, he would have carried the weapon along as well.”
Singh’s advocate, Aamir Chaudhary, argued before the court that he was carrying the extra luggage belonging to his father, who forgot to remove the live cartridges lying in the bag.
Pointing out that the ammunition was recovered without any firearm, he argued that his client was neither in the conscious possession of the ammunition nor had the intention to carry the same.
Aamir also contended that Singh’s father had a valid arms license and the presence of the cartridge in the baggage was purely inadvertent and due to oversight without any malafide intent or knowledge.
It was confirmed by the state that the ammunition was licensed to Singh’s father with all paperwork verified, and had purchased the cartridges lawfully from a registered dealer.
Singh, a USA citizen working in the US army, visited India in February to attend his cousin’s marriage in Patiala. While travelling back to New York on February 22, the IGI airport authorities found him in possession of nine rounds of ammunition in his check-in baggage during security check-in without any valid documents.
An FIR was registered against Singh under Section 25 of the Arms Act 1959.
Section 25 of the Arms Act 1959 provides for punishment related to arms and ammunition, including manufacturing, selling, or possessing them in contravention of the Act.
