Saying there is no need to give preference to MPs and VIPs in the sale of confiscated weapons, the Delhi High Court has said that any leftover firearms after according priority to demands from government departments should be auctioned as the lives of ordinary citizens are equally important.The ruling was given by a a HC division bench. The judges also directed the Centre to furnish a list of all departmental personnel who had been issued such weapons by March 4. On December 12 last, the HC had directed the Centre that all confiscated weapons should be sold at their market prices.The court was hearing a petition filed by People For Animals which alleged that despite a well-established policy which called for according priority to government departments in sale of confiscated arms and only the surplus, if any, could be sold to MPs and VIPs, a majority of such weapons were being sold to MPs and VIPs at massively reduced prices.As per policy, confiscated weapons could only be issued to government officers on returnable basis while non-prohibited arms, after giving priority to service officials, could be sold to MPs at 5 pc below market price. In June 1991, through a letter, the Ministry of Finance allowed such weapons to be sold to VIPs, who were ‘‘above the rank of MPs’’.There were many prominent figures in the list of 653 MPs and VIPs who had been sold weapons. The petition claimed that in 1987 when the policy for disbursement of such arms was framed, it was stated that only ‘‘surplus confiscated arms’’ could be sold to MPs and VIPs at a fixed price.
