Patna: The Patna High Court has strongly criticised the functioning of the Patna district administration over the delay in deciding an arms licence application, warning the District Magistrate (DM) to appear personally before the court if no final decision is taken by June 15.
A single-judge bench of Justice Ajit Kumar, hearing the matter on Tuesday, observed that repeated directions issued by the court had not been complied with by the authorities. The court stated that Patna DM must remain present before the bench on June 16 if the pending application is not resolved within the stipulated deadline.
The case relates to an arms licence application filed by advocate Manibhushan Pratap Sengar on July 5, 2025 before the Patna DM’s office. Under the prescribed rules, such applications are required to be decided within six months. However, despite the lapse of the statutory period, no final order was issued by the administration.
Following the delay, Sengar moved the High Court through a writ petition in February 2026, seeking intervention in the matter.
During the hearing, the court noted that on two earlier occasions it had directed the district administration to dispose of the application within two weeks. Despite these instructions, no action was taken.
The bench also expressed dissatisfaction over the response presented by the state government, the Patna DM and the Arms Magistrate during the proceedings. Observing that the matter reflected administrative apathy and disregard for judicial directions, the court fixed the next hearing for June 16.
