Heard Mr. DN Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. BL Singh, learned Govt. Advocate. 2. The petitioners' case is that, the petitioners are the licence holders of fire arms. The petitioners were granted licence under the Arms Acts and Rules by the competent authority which have been renewed from time to time and are still valid and subsisting. The District Magistrate, Nagaon by order dated 24.3.90, directed all the licence holders of fire arms of Nagaon District to deposit their arms and ammunitions to the Officer-in-charge of the nearest Police Station within 24 hours. It was clarified that all the Central and State Govt. employees including Police, defence personnel, Homeguards, forests, banks and other financial institutions, Members of Parliament and State Legislature, licenced dealers of arms and ammunitions are exempted from the purview of that order. The petitioners in pursuance to the order dated 24.3.90 of the District Magistrate deposited their fire arms and ammunition. Thereafter the petitioners made representations before the respondents on several occasions to return hack their seized arms and ammunitions. But in spite of repeated representations, the respondents neither pass any order on such representations nor returned back the arms and ammunitions although 3 years have already passed. Finding no response, the petitioners have approach this Court in this writ petition. 3. Mr. DN Choudhury, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the District Magistrate has no jurisdiction to pass such order directing the licensees to deposit their arms and ammunitions inasmuch as there is no provisions either under the Arms Act, 1959 or the Arms Rules, 1962, empowering I the District Magistrate to direct the licencees to deposit the arms. In support of his contentions the learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to a decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Kusha Sarma vs. District Magistrate, Darrang reported in (1983) 1 GLR 422, where this Court in para 18 of the judgment held that : "There is no escape from the conclusion that the portion in the second para of the impugned order namely, "It is therefore ordered under Ss.
22 of the Arms Act, 1959 that all licence holders are to deposit their arms and ammunitions with the licence in the nearest Police Station/Out Post within 48 hours of passing this order", cannot be held to have been passed under section 22 or under sections 17, 19 or 21 of the Act or under Rule 63 of the Rules or under condition 9 (a) in case of licences in Form III or condition 10 (a) in case of licences in Form IV. There is no doubt that it affects the petitioners' right to property which, though not absolute, is regulated by the licence. This part of the order has, therefore, to be declared illegal and quashed, which we hereby do, prospectively with effect from today". 4. Mr. BL Singh, learned Govt. Advocate has not been able to point out any provision of the Act or Rules under which the District Magistrate could pass the order directing the licensees of fire arms to deposit the arms to the nearest Police Station. 5. For the reasons stated above, the petition is allowed. The District Magistrate. Nagaon is directed to return back the arms and ammunitions seized from the petitioners in pursuance to his order dated 24.3.90 within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this order provided the licence for keeping the fire arms by the petitioners subsist.