A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice P S Teji asked the Centre and Delhi government to "seek instructions" on the issues raised in the public interest litigation (PIL) by NGO Paardarshita Public Welfare Foundation.
The NGO has alleged the Union Home Ministry "failed to take action against the mass scale use of illegal firearms in Delhi, where the fake arms licences have been issued from north eastern states like Nagaland, Sikkim and Assam".
"The weapons purchased on these illegal arms licences were procured from the government factories in India which are putting at risk the lives of the citizens as well as foreign dignitaries coming to India on the Republic Day parade...," the petition has said.
The NGO has sought directions to the government "to immediately implement a mechanism to stop the illegal trade of fake arms licence" as well as put in place security features, including biometric identification, for issuance of arms license in India which would be similar to the current system of issuing passports.