The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Centre to clarify the status of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) after its counsel informed that the federation’s license has been cancelled.
Hearing a series of petitions filed by shooters, including Ibrahim Javed Khan, seeking the release of cartridges for practice for the upcoming national and international competitions, Justice Vishal Sharma gave an interim relief asking authorities to release 1,000 cartridges each to the shooters.
Directing the counsel for the petitioner to implead the Union Home Ministry as a party in the case, the court also sought the opinion of the central government regarding use of sport category weapons as well as entitlement of the sportspersons to the number of cartridges.
In its order issued on Thursday, the judge said the court has been informed by the counsel for “the Union of India that the license of the Rifle Association of India has been cancelled.
“However, he is not in possession of any order. He is directed to place the same on record”
The petitions were filed by shooters who claimed they were unable to practice for competitions scheduled for March this year due to an “impugned order” restricting their access to ammunition.
While ordering an immediate release of 1,000 cartridges to each petitioner to enable their training and preparation for upcoming events, the court called for strict monitoring and asked the shooters to report back to the Collector after exhausting their quota.
Further release of cartridges will only be ensured after authorities verify the proper use of the ammunition.
National Rifle Association of India secretary-general Pawankumar Singh told PTI that a meeting of its legal team has been convened, although the federation itself was unaware of any submission in the court.
He noted that shooting remains one of the Sports Ministry’s highest priority disciplines.
“The information which we are getting through social media, I believe, there is some confusion. We haven’t received any notice or communication in this regard,” said Singh.
“We have spoken to our legal team to work on it and take appropriate measures. There are a couple of cases involving shooters ongoing in Madhya Pradesh, not this one, I believe, where their licences are pending, and they have made the NRAI a party to the cases as well,” he stated.
“In fact, we are also in talks with the government on how to increase the quota for ammunition,” he said.
India recently hosted the Asian Championship at the Karni Singh Range here and topped the medal tally in the prestigious continental event.
Indian shooters had a breakout season in 2025 where they had their best-ever performance at the World Championship, World Cup Finals and the Asian Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
