The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected a public interest writ petition seeking directions for withdrawal of the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifles from the Army and paramilitary forces, and their replacement with ‘modern firearms’.
Dismissing the writ petition, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said it lacked any material or substantial details to show any shortcomings in INSAS rifles as to warrant any interference or directions in public interest.
“We see no reason to pass orders in [this] PIL. The petition is accordingly dismissed,” said the court in its brief order.
The writ petition, moved by retired Army officer Deepak Malhotra, had alleged that the soldiers were made to use ‘inferior weapons’ at the risk of losing their lives because of ‘bureaucratic red tape’.
The petition was filed after the death of some paramilitary personnel in an ambush in Dantewala district of Chhattisgarh. It contended that the security personnel had lost their lives because of the use of the indigenously manufactured INSAS rifles. It also claimed that the elite Army units had rejected INSAS and the plans to replace them were pending with the Home Ministry and the Defence Ministry. The Union government, in an affidavit filed in the court, said the INSAS rifles could not be compared with other categories of weapons such as AK-47 assault rifles, as both weapons had different features and were effective in different roles.
The court said the petitioner’s case was based primarily on his own personal experience, unsubstantiated reports allegedly made in newspapers by the CRPF Director General, and a statement made in Rajya Sabha by a former Defence Minister.
The Bench noted that the Centre had clarified that the statement in Rajya Sabha pertained merely to an attempt to upgrade the weapons, which was an ongoing process.
A Division Bench said it lacked any material or substantial details to show shortcomings in INSAS rifles as to warrant interference in public interest
