Supreme Court seeks response from Karnataka govt on exemption given to Kodavas to carry firearms without licence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Karnataka government in a plea challenging the exemption granted to Kodavas from the requirement to obtain a licence to carry and possess firearms under the Arms Act, 1959 [Capt. Chetan YK (Retd) v. Union of India]..A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana sought the response of the State in a plea by retired Army officer, Captain Chethan YK challenging a September 2021 verdict of the Karnataka High Court which had upheld the constitutional validity of the exemption..The High Court Bench of then Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice SS Magadum had held that,"The Kodava community which is a martial community is enjoying the benefit of exemption since pre-independence and Jumma tenure holders are enjoying the exemption since pre-independence period. They have rightly been granted exemption for a period of ten years, it is not the case they have been granted exemption indefinitely. Exemption granted is subject to certain terms and conditions. Therefore, the Constitutional validity of the notification is upheld in the petition.".The appeal before the top court stated that the notification of October 2019 creates a discrimination based on caste/race and ancestral land tenure and was violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The plea pointed out that as per Section 41 of the Arms Act, exemption from getting a firearms license can be granted only in public interest. However, no reasoning has been given in the notification on granting such exemption to the Kodava community. Besides, the language used in the notification to identify exempted classes/castes of people has been borrowed mechanically and verbatim from the British during the pre-independence era. The same was done by the British to disarm people of India in the aftermath of the First War of Independence of 1857 and to exempt people who were loyal to them, the petition stated..The appeal was filed through Advocates Anupam Sinha, Avinash Sharma and Apoorv Jha. Senior Counsel Jayant Mehta appeared for the appellant.