The Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore Bench ruled on December 13 that empty cartridges would not be regarded as "ammunition" for the purposes of the Arms Act.

“In the judgment passed by the High Court of Delhi in the case of Chan Hong Saik (supra), which was followed in several other cases, it has been found that live cartridge is minor ammunition, therefore, empty cartridges can at he most be categorized as minor part of “Ammunition”, which is specifically exempted under sub-Clause (d) of Section 45 of Arms Act, 1959 and the possession of which is not punishable under the said Act.” 

Justice Satyendra Kumar Singh made the following observation with reference to Rule 2(12) of the 2016 Arms Rules: "At most, empty cartridges may be considered to be minor ammunition, whose possession is expressly exempted under Section 45(d) of the Arms Act from any punishment under the said statute.”

The relevant officer discovered empty cartridges in the applicant's luggage while it was being checked at an airport, according to the case's facts. The applicant had explained that he had picked them up from a shooting range abroad when pressed for an explanation. He was recorded for an offense punishable under Section 25 of the Arms Act due to the lack of a valid licence. The applicant moved the court out of resentment.

The Court pointed out that under Section 2 of the Arms Act, an empty cartridge can only be classified as small ammunition, not ammunition in general. 

The FIR and the accompanying procedures against the applicant were invalidated when the aforementioned observations were made, and the application was approved.

Case Title: TAHER VERSUS THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
Citation: MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 57707 of 2022
Link: https://mphc.gov.in/upload/indore/MPHCIND/2022/MCRC/57707/MCRC_57707_2022_Order_13-Dec-2022.pdf