Allahabad High Court
YADVENDRA PRATAP SHAHIversusSTATE OF U.P. AND 3 OTHERS
- Decided
Holding
The cancellation order dated 19‑Feb‑2026 is set aside and the matter is remanded to the Licensing Authority to pass a fresh order, with the licences suspended for six months.
Summary
Petitioner Yadvendra Pratap Shahi held two arms licences issued in 1998 and 2003. An FIR lodged in 2015 alleged that he, along with co‑accused, disturbed the counting of votes, and the trial remains pending. In 2022 a notice was issued to cancel his licences, and the District Magistrate cancelled them on 19‑Feb‑2026; the appeal against this cancellation was dismissed on 30‑Jul‑2026. The petitioner challenged the cancellation, contending that no further criminal cases have arisen and that more than ten years have elapsed, indicating good conduct after the 2015 incident. The Court held that the licensing authority must consider the petitioner’s conduct after the alleged offence and set aside the cancellation order, remanding the matter to the Licensing Authority to pass a fresh order within six months, with the licences suspended for that period. The writ petition was disposed of.
Issues considered
- Whether an arms licence can be cancelled on the basis of an FIR and pending trial that is more than ten years old.
- Whether the licensing authority must take into account the petitioner’s conduct after the alleged offence before cancelling the licence.
- Whether the cancellation order dated 19‑Feb‑2026 is legally valid.
Subjects
- Arms licence
- Cancellation
- FIR
- Pending trial
- Good conduct
- Licensing Authority
- Suspension
- Writ petition
- High Court
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - C No. - 33328 of 2026
Yadvendra Pratap Shahi
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
State Of U.P. And 3 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Nitin Sharma, Prabhat Kumar Pandey
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C.
Court No. - 36
HON'BLE SAURABH SHYAM SHAMSHERY, J.
1.Heard Sri Nitin Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri
P.Tripathi,learned Standing Counsel.
2. Petitioner has two arms license.
3. One arms license was issued in the year 1998 and the other was issued
in the year 2003.
4. In the year 2015, an F.I.R was lodged against the petitioner along with
other co-accused that they have disturbed counting of voting process and
trial is still pending.
5. On basis of aforesaid criminal case, a notice was issued to the
petitioner in the year 2022 that due to his involvement in aforesaid case
both the arms license of petitioner be cancelled and accordingly District
Magistrate vide an order dated 19.2.2026 cancelled the arms license of the
petitioner and appeal thereof was also dismissed vide an order dated
30.7.2026.
6. Orders dated 19.2.2026 and 30.7.2026 are under challenge in the
present writ petition.
7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that after the above
referred criminal case which was lodged against the petitioner in the year
2015, no other criminal case was lodged against him till date. In the said
criminal case also, no specific role was assigned to the petitioner and no
WRIC No. 33328 of 2026
2
circumstances exist to initiate proceedings for cancellation of arms license
on basis of occurrence which occurred in the year 2015 i.e. after a period
of more than 10 years.
8. Per Contra, learned Standing Counsel has supported the impugned
order and submitted that petitioner was involved in an alleged offence
while disturbing the process of counting of votes, though he has not
denied that till date trial has not concluded and no other criminal case is
pending against the petitioner.
9. I have considered the above submissions and perused the records.
10. The contents of F.I.R lodged against the petitioner in the year 2015
shows that he was involved along with other co-accused persons in an
occurrence where they have disturbed the counting of process of voting
and due to their act, public order was disturbed. However, still
considering the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner that after
2015, petitioner was not involved in any other criminal case, therefore, it
can be stated that after 2015, petitioner has maintained his good conduct
as well as that proceedings were initiated to cancel arms license after
more than 10 years after the F.I.R was lodged and that trial is still not
concluded, therefore, Licensing Authority as well as Appellate Authority
ought to have considered conduct of the petitioner after the aforesaid
occurrence since already a decade has passed.
11. Accordingly impugned order dated 19.2.2026 is set aside and matter
is remanded to Licensing Authority to pass a fresh order within a period
of 6 months and it is directed that for a period of 6 months both the arms
license of the petitioner shall be kept under suspension subject to outcome
of fresh order.
12. Writ Petition is accordingly disposed of.
(Saurabh Shyam Shamshery,J.)
September 7, 2026
SB
Digitally signed by :-
SANDEEP BHATTACHARYA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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