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Section 6: Licence for shortening of guns or conversion of imitation firearms into firearms

Arms Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1959
Section 5 All 46 Sections of Arms Act Section 7

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 6

Section 6 criminalizes the unauthorized shortening of the barrel of a firearm or the conversion of an imitation firearm into a functional firearm, preventing the illicit modification of sporting or replica weapons into concealable lethal devices.

  • Barrel Shortening Prohibition: Prohibits shortening the barrel of a shotgun or rifle below the statutory minimum length (less than 20 inches / 50.8 cm for smooth-bore guns, or as prescribed) without a prior written licence from the licensing authority.
  • Conversion of Imitation Firearms: Strictly bars converting toy weapons, replica firearms, blank-firing pistols, or imitation firearms into lethal weapons capable of discharging live ammunition, pellets, or missiles.
  • Mechanical and Forensic Alteration Standards: Covers any mechanical machining, drilling of obstructed barrels, chamber reaming, or barrel-cutting that alters the lethal discharge capacity or concealment profile of the weapon.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Mohd. Aslam v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2009) 11 SCC 440: The Supreme Court affirmed that illicit modification of a firearm's mechanical structure to enhance lethality or concealability constitutes a grave statutory transgression under Section 6 punishable under Section 25.
  • State of Punjab v. Jagir Singh (1974) 3 SCC 277: The Supreme Court emphasized that proving conversion or sawing-off of a firearm requires specialized ballistic analysis; police ocular testimony alone cannot establish unauthorized mechanical modification.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Demand production of the original factory manufacturing specifications and compare them against the ballistician's measurements of the barrel. Cross-examine the ballistic expert on whether the shortening was done professionally or through illicit cutting, and examine whether the weapon retained safe ballistic pressures during test firing to refute charges of unauthorized conversion.

Section 5 All 46 Sections of Arms Act Section 7