The Arms Act, 1959

The Arms Act, 1959
Parliament of India
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to arms and ammunition.
Citation	Act No. 54 of 1959
Territorial extent	India
Date assented to	23 December 1959
Date commenced	1 October 1962
Status: In force

The Arms Act 1959 is an Act of the Parliament of India to consolidate and amend the law relating to arms and ammunition in order to curb illegal weapons and violence using illegal weapons.^[1]

Chapters

The act is divided into six chapters^[2]

• Chapter I: Preliminary

  Provides a short title and definitions of terms used in the act

• Chapter II: Acquisition, Possession, Manufacture, Sale, Import, Export, and Transport of Arms and Ammunition

  Explains rules and regulations around acquisition, possession, manufacture, sale, import, export and transport of arms and ammunition in India.

• Chapter III: Provisions relating to licences

  Details how to procure license, rules around grant, refusal, fees for license.

• Chapter IV: Powers and Procedure

  Provides details on the powers that the government officials have to enforce this act.

• Chapter V: Offences and penalties

  Explains punishments associated with breaking rules related to this act.

• Chapter VI: Miscellaneous

  Deals with the other miscellaneous parts of the act such as exemptions.

Current affairs

The Act has undergone many changes since 1959, the most recent being in 2010 through an amendment for the Arms Act.^[3] There was also controversy around air guns to be included as part of this act which was rejected by the Supreme Court of India.^[4]

See also

• Anti-terrorism legislation
• Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002
• Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act

References