The Bombay High Court recently overturned an order by the Pune Commissioner of Police to cancel the arms license of Manorama Khedkar, the mother of controversial former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar..A Bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and PK Chavan while remitting the matter for fresh consideration to the Pune Commissioner stated, "Considering that there is nothing to show that the notice was duly served on the petitioner as mandated in law, the impugned order cannot be sustained.".The case arose from an incident in which Manorama Khedkar was arrested after a viral video showed her brandishing a gun during an argument over a land dispute in Dhadwali village. The video sparked public outrage, leading to her arrest on July 18.She was apprehended at a lodge in Hirkaniwadi village in Raigad and later remanded to judicial custody. Khedkar along with her husband and five others were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon), 147 (rioting), and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as the Arms Act. She remained in jail until she was granted bail by a Pune court in August 2024.Meanwhile, on July 23, the Pune Commissioner issued a notice for the cancellation of Khedkar’s arms license, citing the above FIR. A hearing was scheduled for August 2. However, Khedkar was in jail during this period due to her involvement in the criminal case and could not attend the hearing..Upon reviewing the case, the Court noted that there was no evidence showing that Khedkar had been served with the notice as required by law. The order indicated that since the 10-day notice period had expired with no one appearing on behalf of Khedkar, the authorities had presumed she had no response to offer. However, the bench pointed out that Khedkar’s incarceration during this time made it impossible for her to appear before the authorities."The petitioner was in custody during the period from June 18, 2024, to August 2, 2024, and could not have appeared before the authority," the Court said.In light of these observations, the Court quashed the order canceling Khedkar’s arms license and remitted the matter back to the Pune Commissioner for a fresh decision.Advocate Narayan G Rokade along with advocates Vijay Jagtap, Udaysinh Deshmukh, Vikrant Kadam and Harishchandra Jadhav appeared for Manorama Khedkar.Additional Public Prosecutor KV Saste appeared for the respondent-State..[Read Order]
