High Court slams Punjab Police over missing weapons, calls for fresh report

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed dissatisfaction with the Punjab Police for failing to recover nine out of 10 weapons that went missing from the state armoury, despite assurances by the authorities.

Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj noted that four months had passed since the state and other respondents promised to ensure the recovery, but only one weapon has been retrieved so far.

The court was initially informed about 14 missing weapons, but the number was later reduced to 10 following some recoveries. Justice Bhardwaj emphasised the need for accountability and transparency in safeguarding law-enforcement assets by stating that the court was inclined to initiate disciplinary action against the special investigation team (SIT) members for their inaction.

However, the court granted additional time after the state’s counsel requested the “last opportunity” to submit a comprehensive report on the remaining missing weapons. Adjourning the hearing to November 12 in the interest of justice, Justice Bhardwaj called for a fresh status report in the matter by then.

The Bench, in December 2022, had admonished the Punjab Government for the sorry state of affairs after noticing that a carbine went missing from state armoury before calling for an affidavit from the state’s Director-General of Police. He was asked to give details of the weapons deposited with the state armoury at different police stations and information on missing weapons.

Justice Bhardwaj was hearing a petition filed against the State of Punjab and other respondents by Daljit Singh through counsel SS Salar. “The present case reflects the sorry state of affairs where an M1 carbine has gone missing from the state armoury and the authorities have filed evasive response about their inability to trace the weapon,” Justice Bhardwaj had asserted

A weapon, originally licensed to Subedar Major Malawa Singh, was “undisputedly” deposited at the Tarn Taran city police station. The allegation was that one Bakhshish Singh removed the weapon in a clandestine manner. The final report in the matter was filed, but the weapon was not recovered. “Invariably, the authorities have failed to take adequate and appropriate steps to effect recovery of the weapon in question,” Justice Bhardwaj had asserted.