Makers of prohibited guns now stare at possible life term

New Delhi: Makers of "prohibited" arms illegally and those carrying such guns may soon have to spend the remainder of their life in jail if convicted under a new law proposed by the Union Home Ministry.

According to the draft Arms (Amendment) Bill, anyone possessing more than two licensed guns will have to deposit the third one with authorities as the government is planning to ban the practice of granting multiple licences to an individual.

The Centre is also planning to double the punishments stipulated in the Arms Act, enacted six decades ago, a Home Ministry official said.

The draft of the proposed law covers areas like illegal trafficking of arms, tracking arms and their components from manufacturers to end-users, organised crime, organised crime syndicates, and celebratory firing - with different punishment for these offences.

As per the draft bill, the government is planning to amend Section 25 (1AA) of the Arms Act, 1959, to give punishment from the usual life term of 14 years to "imprisonment for the remainder of that person's life" for manufacturing, selling, repairing and possessing "prohibited" arms. The minimum punishment under this section will be 14 years.

Under the present law, the offence invites imprisonment not be less than seven years but may extend to life imprisonment - mostly up to 14 years.